Going Home
by Hannah-Kiwii
Summary: It'd been seven years now since the release of Mega's deadly virus, and there is an air of impatience in the old farmhouse that the Mall Rats now inhabit.  They wanted to go home.  Focuses on Bray jr, Amber and Bray
1. Chapter 1

**Going Home**

**Chapter 1**

Lex and Amber stood on the top of the hill overlooking the city.

It was the fifth excursion so far this year to check out the area, the first year ever to yield such results. Normally two of the Mall Rats would return twice a year, by boat, to a point some ten miles from the city, once in January and once in June. They'd cross the hills and approach the city, going as far as there were signs of life; grass, trees, flowers and small animals. But in January May and Salene had managed to reach the perimeter of the city, where the first buildings met the wilderness, and had reported back with much excitement that there was, at long last, life in the city; they'd found in the first warehouse they'd explored a family of dormice.

Now it was April, and Lex and Amber were going to try and reach the mall. If they returned back without any sign of sickness the Mall Rats would vote on how safe it would be to return to the city.

It'd been seven years now since the release of Mega's deadly virus, and there was an air of impatience in the old farmhouse that the tribe now inhabited.

They wanted to go home.

"We won't reach the mall by nightfall," Amber said. "Not if we have to stop for another break, and we've still seven miles to the old fence."

Lex nodded. "We'll reach the warehouses though, and I'd rather sleep undercover."

Amber shifted her backpack nervously. "I don't know if I'd feel safe, sleeping in the city. I have a son to go home to."

Lex ignored her and pressed forwards. "If there are dormice sleeping there then we'll be fine. You're not gonna get sick, Amber. No virus can survive seven years with no host."

"I suppose you're right," she agreed, and the two set off for the city.

* * *

><p>Eight year old Bray jr. swung his feet happily back and forth as he hungrily shovelled egg into his mouth. Trudy had made breakfast this morning, and Trudy was Bray's favourite cook in the whole world. Eggs, fried of course, were his favourite of all breakfast foods.<p>

"You eat like a pig," stated eleven year old Brady with a sniff, and took a delicate sip of her juice.

With a frown Bray looked up from his meal. "You smell like a pig," he retorted.

Brady looked hurt.

With a bang Trudy placed her own plate on the table. "No fighting. I have a headache and I want a meal where I don't have to put up with bickering. Can you two children handle that?"

Sheepishly both youngsters bowed their heads back to their meals.

After barely thirty seconds of silence Brady spoke up again. "He does eat like a pig, though."

"Right, that's it!" Trudy yelled impatiently, and snatched the plates from under the noses of the two children. "If you can't eat in peace you can't eat at all."

"But mum!" moaned Brady, over Bray's protests.

"No buts! I've had it up to here with your fighting and if you think that I'm going to let you…" she stopped short, her eyes fixed on the entrance to the kitchen diner.

"Bray," came a slow, firm voice, "Are you disobeying your Aunt Trudy again?"

Bray stood up to face the new arrival, but bowed his head so as not to look her in the eye. "No ma'am."

"Go to your room and wait for me to come and get you, please," she said tiredly.

Wordlessly Bray obeyed.

Trudy walked across the kitchen to take her best friend's arm. "Come and sit down, Amber. You look exhausted!" she insisted. "Brady, go and tidy our room now. If it's not spotless when I come to inspect it you're not going out for a week!"

The little girl did as she was told but muttered violently the whole way up the stairs, using language most wouldn't expect from an eleven year old.

"Your daughter seems angry," Amber commented simply.

"My daughter's always angry. Before I know it she'll cease to be a little girl and start being a teenager."

Amber chuckled. It was an amazing and hopeful thought. To think that the first hope born to the Mall Rats could live to have mood swings! It was almost cause to celebrate.

"How was the scouting mission?" asked Trudy, pushing Bray's half eaten plate of food towards her friend.

"Scary," Amber admitted. "It's so long since I've been that far into the city, and Lex insisted in sleeping in the city overnight."

"Is he mad!" shouted Trudy. "You have a son to come back to!"

"I know," Amber replied simply. "But it's a big city, Trudy and so many of the streets are overgrown with weeds now. We never would have reached the mall and made is back in one day."

Trudy conceded, but still looked shaken by the idea of her friend sleeping in such a dangerous place.

"It's so close Trudy, I can feel it. I'm sure the city's safe now. Next month we can start getting the mall back into a liveable state, and then a scouting party could move in to maybe find a patch of land to start growing some food. By the end of the year we could move the kids in. It'd work perfectly Trudy, I can feel it in my blood. We can finally go home."

Frowning, Trudy finished off the food on her plate. "I'm not sure you should rush the plans. One trip to the middle of the city isn't enough to say we can bring our children into range. You have to think about what's best for Bray!"

"Bray…" Amber stood up. "I should go and talk to him about not being so rude."

Trudy shook her head. "Eat your breakfast first. And he doesn't need to be told off, not really. It was Brady winding him up again. I overreacted."

"He needs to learn to keep his head," she counteracted simply, not really leaving room for argument. "And as for what's best for Bray; going home is best for Bray. He's a city boy, not a country boy, like all of us. He belongs in that mall." Without looking back to her friend Amber left the room.

* * *

><p>Bray was angrily throwing marbles at the wall when Jay came to see what all the noise was about. For a moment after entering the room he almost expected his stepson to start angrily throwing marbles at him as well, but the boy lowered his weapon.<p>

"What, is she too busy to come discipline me herself now?" Bray asked angrily.

"Pardon?" Jay asked politely.

"Did she send you to tell me off, rather than come herself?" he clarified.

"Did you upset your aunt again?" Jay tried, attempting to make sense of the boy's babbling.

Bray answered by throwing another marble at the wall.

"I only came to see what was making all this noise. You know, you'll probably get in more trouble for making dents in the wall."

Just to show how little he cared Bray threw yet another marble at the wall, this time with extra force.

Jay raised an eyebrow.

"She doesn't care at all, does she?"

Taken aback Jay managed to splutter, "Trudy loves you like her own son, just as much as she loves Brady. I do think you're over reacting a little."

Bray threw two marbles at the wall. They rebounded in opposite directions. "I know, she tells me she loves me every day. It's not Trudy. It's Amber."

Jay struggled to keep the relieved grin from his face, and instead plastered his concerned parenting expression across his features. "Your mum's back home then I take it?" he asked, trying hard to keep all emotion from his voice.

"You don't need to pretend to be worried about me, like you're my dad or something," Bray almost growled in anger. "And yes she's back, and she didn't give me a kiss, or a hug, or ask me how I was. Not even a hello. Some mother she is, she's more concerned about her stupid city than she is about me."

Amber had been gone for a week now, scouting out the city and sorting out the preparations for the Mall Rats to finally return to their mall. It had been so many years, and the thought filled every member of the tribe with joy. Every member but two.

Jay knew that Bray and Brady didn't remember the mall at all. In the minds of everyone who'd once lived there, the mall was home. In the eyes of Amber the mall represented so much more. It was their freedom, their place of refuge. It'd been hard living in the countryside, to fit in where city kids clearly didn't belong, even for those who'd spent time with the Ecos.

But Bray and Brady didn't remember being city kids. For seven years they'd been brought up in a farm house across the sea from the city. They were used to orchards and chickens and trading at market. They didn't see the impending return to the city as a return home.

"She loves you, Bray," said Jay gently.

Bray sighed heavily. "If she loved me she'd want to spend time with me."

Jay came to sit beside his step-son on the floor. It went against everything he wanted to do. He wanted to tell the boy not to be so stupid, that of course his mother loved him, and then leave him to sulk while he took Amber in his arms and welcomed her home. But he sensed that the boy wasn't simply sulking this time and that he really did need some reassurance.

"Of course she loves you Bray, and of course she wants to spend time with you. But she sees this city as her responsibility and she wants to oversee the reoccupation. She's the only one that can do this. She's the only person the people trust."

Bray sat in numb silence. He'd heard it all before, from his mother and from all her friends.

But wasn't _he_ her responsibility? Wasn't she the only mother he'd got?

"She's only trying to build a better life for you. She does it all for you."

Fiercely Bray fought back tears. He scrunched up his face and turned away from his stepfather.

Jay sensed that the boy wouldn't speak any more. "Well, whatever you did to upset her you should probably think about it…or reflect…or something." He climbed to his feet, feeling as always awkward when thrown into a parenting situation. "I'll see you later."

And when the door closed Bray couldn't stop the tears from falling.

He was only eight after all.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes.<strong>

Please be nice! This is the first time I've written in several years and the first time I've written anything for the Tribe. I'm not sure on fandom conventions, and sort of confused myself when it comes to Baby Bray (he's not a baby anymore, and being the only Bray around, I figured I'd just call him Bray)

I never intended to write Tribe fiction, but I was sat on a train with a notebook one day and this just came out.

Please give any constructive criticism or advice, it'd be much appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter** **2**

The city lay before him like a great jungle as he stood on one of the hills that surrounded it. The hot midday sun beat down uncomfortably and his luggage was heavy on his back.

It had been such a long time since he'd been here, so many long years.

He squinted hard at the streets and buildings below him, but nothing showed a sign of life. There was no smoke, no steam, and no artificial light. Nothing moved in the streets, be it vehicle or person. The city seemed dead, more dead than it had ever been, even right after the first virus.

Of course he hadn't been here when it had happened, that second disaster. He'd been many miles away, on another continent nearly. He'd heard about it though, very soon after. The refugees had fled as far as possible. They'd brought with them news of his home, and more importantly, of his family.

Amber had been alive when they'd fled. Amber had defeated the Technos (twice!) and Amber had organized the evacuation of the city. Amber had lived and fought and he was so glad. So many nights he'd cried himself to sleep thinking he'd left her and their baby to die in that barn.

But the news had come with a bitter blow. No one had news of his son and no one knew if Amber had escaped from the second deadly virus with her life.

He had waited for months and had questioned every refugee. But the longer he waited the fewer came and the more the news dried up.

Everything within a five mile radius of the city was dead; from the wildlife to the plants. The virus truly had been the ultimate killing machine. Those who'd approached the city had become ill and died within days.

So two years had passed in waiting, and no more refugees came. There was no news of any of the Mall Rats, and in desperation and mourning he chose to travel as far from that place as he could. He'd crossed half of the world and seen many wonderful sites and met many wonderful tribes. But he'd been in mourning the whole time, his last hope dashed. He'd lived for Amber and that city, but search the world as he might he simply couldn't find another purpose to live for.

So for 5 years he travelled where he could walk, or where those with transport would take him. He'd eat as he'd find food, and work for it where he couldn't. He never stayed anywhere more than a week.

Until last month when he'd found himself back where the Technos had dumped him all that time ago, and where he'd waited fruitlessly for so long. But after a week of resting there he made the decision to go back, and to scout out that city for himself.

Even if Amber had died there, at least he could mourn her and move on.

Deep in his heart though he knew she must be alive. She'd always been alive before and he wasn't ready to mourn again until he'd seen proof of her death.

Bray strode purposefully towards the city.

Dead as it was, coming to the city felt oddly like coming home.

* * *

><p>Amber sat at the scrubbed kitchen table and looked around at her tribe.<p>

Jack and Ellie had never ceased to work together, although both had struggled with the severe lack of technology outside of the city. Nevertheless Jack had rigged together a system for hot water and for electricity and had made their life in the countryside as comfortable as possible.

Gal hadn't taken to life on a farm in the least. Eventually she'd worked out that if she did the work indoors then she would be asked to go outside too often. Much as she hated any sort of labour, cooking and cleaning had become her job.

Sammy had, despite the not so positive influences around him, grown up into a happy young man. He loved to help Jack with any technical problems with the water and electricity systems. He was also trying to court and oblivious Lottie.

With the careful discipline provided by Ruby, Lottie had grown into a vibrant young woman, full of life, and finally able to control her hoarding habit. She'd taken Salene, May and Ruby as adoptive mothers, and was known to change rooms regularly, sleeping on her airbed in the room of whichever of her "mothers" she wanted to be close to at the time.

Ebony was as arrogant and lazy as ever. Amber had long given up fighting with her, and had decided simply to let her be. Slade did his best to keep her in line, and rather unfairly did all her work share as well as his own. He never complained, and so she supposed she had no real reason to. It didn't stop her wanting to though.

After his fall from power Ram had slowly learned the true value of hard work. He'd managed to worm his way into everyone's favour with his simpering smile and sound reason. He wasn't necessarily liked, but he stayed away from everyone as much as possible and as long as he did his work no fights broke out. He'd often go off alone for days at a time. No one really minded as long as he was out of the way.

Lex too was self-confident as ever, but he'd worked hard to make this new home work. He did seem a little lost without a woman around to adore him, and Amber strongly suspected that this was why he was so eager to return to the city

Finally Amber's eyes rested on her lover. Jay smiled at her encouragingly. Jay had supported her through everything. He'd diplomatically broken up all fights. He'd helped her to raise her son. If it wasn't for Jay, Amber knew that they wouldn't be alive. They'd have killed each other long ago with their petty squabbling.

Only Trudy was absent; she was supervising the little ones as they fed the chickens in the yard.

"Thank you for all coming so quickly when we called," Amber announced, and she couldn't help but grin. "Lex and I have some fantastic news."

You could see the atmosphere in the farmhouse change. Suddenly the kitchen was filled with fresh hope. No one had to be told what the news was. They all knew from the smile on Amber's face. But she told them anyway.

"We reached the mall," she said, trying hard to keep the hysterical excitement out of her voice.

Someone cheered, Lex wooped, May looked like she was about to cry with joy. There was an explosion of excitement in the kitchen, and everyone began to talk at once.

Amber grinned happily and waited for the noise to settle down. It did quite quickly. Everyone wanted to know what would happen next.

"It's in a state of disrepair, much worse than it's ever been before. We'll have to take everything from here that we can to make it as safe and comfortable. But there's no reason we won't be as safe as we ever were there."

Jack spoke up first. "Is my water system still working, or my wind turbines? I could build them again, but I'd need to know what needs to be repaired. I don't want to have to transport materials I don't need all the way to the city."

"We didn't get a chance to check," Lex answered. "But we can always send out another scouting party to check that out before we go."

"What do we need another scouting party for?" Gal asked. "If we know it's safe we should just take everything."

"For once I have to agree with her," said Ellie. "We won't be coming back here, we should just take everything."

"We don't need everything," Lex argued. "The city has better things, or don't you remember? We don't need this farmyard junk."

"I think you'll find we do," Ram insisted. "The city may have been looted, most of the food will have rotted, and we won't have any electricity or supplies unless we sort it out ourselves."

Jay nodded his agreement. "We'll need to take everything, even the livestock."

"Especially the livestock," Amber agreed. "But I do think we need to send a couple more scouting parties."

"We need to check that there's no danger from other tribes," Lex explained.

"And make it safe for Bray and Brady," Lottie added.

Amber smiled at the young girl. "It will be safe for them, I'm sure. After all, they're going home."

* * *

><p>Chickens scattered before him as Bray stomped through the yard, throwing the grain around as angrily as he could.<p>

"Stupid Amber, stupid city, stupid stupid stupid!" he muttered.

Brady stood in his path. "Stop being so angry, you'll scare the chickens!"

"They're just chickens," he muttered but he stopped kicking at them all the same. He looked up to where aunty was, staring up at the sky and not paying them any attention. "Aunt Trudy can we go back inside yet?" he called.

"Not yet," she shouted back, still giving them no attention. "Finish your chores."

Rolling her eyes, Brady went to show her mother the empty seed bag. "Please can we go inside?"

Trudy looked down at the children. "Not while Amber's holding a meeting."

Brady looked hurt. "I'm eleven years old now Mum!"

"So you are. And when you're thirteen you can sit in on the meetings. You know the rules."

The Mallrats had brought in the age rule on voting in movements and attending meetings when Brady learned to talk. It had been a given that everyone could vote in their early days; everyone was kids, and those who lived were forced to grow up to survive. Brady and Bray were only children, and their mothers wanted to keep them as so for as long as possible. So it was decided that thirteen was the age at which they'd be considered adults by the tribe, because thirteen was Sammy's age at the time.

"Can't we just listen?" Brady asked. "We'll be super quiet."

"I'll believe that when I see it," laughed Trudy. "No, no, it's best if you stay outside. The two years will fly Brady, and then you can sit in boring meetings all you like."

Bray scowled and nothing in particular. "I don't want to go inside anyway."

Both children knew what was being talked about in the kitchen. They knew that Amber and Lex had made it safely into the city. They also knew that it would mean the end of their stay in the countryside.

"Will they vote that we go home, mum?" Brady asked softly.

Trudy smiled. "That won't even be voted upon. Everybody wants to go home sweetie."

Brady frowned, but Bray said what she was thinking. "We are home," he whispered.

Trudy frowned at him. "I know you don't remember, Bray. And that you barely remember, Brady. But you really will love the city. It is your home."

"What if it isn't?" asked Bray. "Here feels like home. I like trees and I like animals and I like the farmhouse. The city is full of war and germs. I like it here."

Brady nodded her agreement, looking at her mother for reassurance.

"Brady, you were born in that city. You were so happy there. You used to play in the mall all day. I know you'll love it, because I did, and you're a lot like me. And you're not much younger than I was when I first found happiness there.

"Bray, that city is in your blood. Your father and mother fought so hard for that city, to keep it for you. You'll want to fight for it too, the moment you see it. I promise." She looked at the children, so young, and yet had they only been a generation younger they'd have been considered almost old now.

He didn't argue with her, but Bray didn't believe a word. He couldn't love any home but this. If his mother had ever bothered to get to know him she'd realise that he didn't want her to fight for the city, not for him or for anyone.

"Go play you two; you finished all your chores."

Wordlessly Bray followed a shouting Brady into the woods.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"The adults are stupid," Brady said as she followed her cousin up the tree. He was a faster climber than her because he was less careful. He'd climb from branch to branch with no thought of how he might get back down. "Why do they want to go back to the city so much?"

"Because all they do is chores," Bray called down. "If they played more often they'd see that our farm is better."

Amber never came into the woods. She didn't know their secret cave, or how to swing from tree to tree.

Some of the other adults did from time to time, and they'd often played with Sammy and Lottie in the past. But these days it was just Brady and Bray.

"I'm glad they don't play though," Brady said. "I like it when it's just you and me."

Bray snorted. "I wish you'd hurry up and be thirteen already. Then it would be just me, and that would be better."

Brady gave an offended sniff. "You're always so mean at the moment! Maybe I don't want to play with you!"

Of course Bray hadn't meant it. He'd be lonely on his own, and he loved to play with his cousin. But he was angry at everything at the moment.

"Why doesn't Amber ever supervise us?" Brady asked Bray. She'd stopped climbing and was waiting nervously on the lower branches. Bray climbed higher.

"She doesn't like to look at me or talk to me. She'd rather think about her precious city…or her precious Jay."

"It doesn't seem right, really," mused Brady. "She is your mummy after all."

Bray crouched low on a branch, wrapping his fingers around another strong branch in front of him.

"You don't really hate Jay, do you? He seems really nice to me."

Bray swung forwards, launching himself into space. Brady turned her face away but she wasn't truly afraid. She knew that he wouldn't get hurt because he knew what he was doing.

"He's okay," replied Bray, swinging from the branch by his fingertips. He let go and fell through the air, and landed safely on his feet like a cat. "It's just that Amber likes him more than me. And sometimes he tries to be my dad, but I know he's not."

Gently and carefully Brady made her descent. "I think you're really lucky. I wish I had a step dad."

Bray shook his head. "I just wish I had a real dad… or a real mum. You don't realise how lucky you are Brady."

Brady stuck her tongue out at him from above. "Your mummy is awesome! She's never here and she never tells you what to do. Mum yells at me all the time. Amber is much better. You're just stupid."

"If you say so." Bray sighed.

He thought about the thing that he really desired as they walked further into the wood; a real parent. He always dreamed of his father late at night. He dreamt that he was tall and handsome, and petted his head and told him how proud he was. He dreamt that he could climb higher in the trees than even he could, and was stronger than Lex and Slade put together.

He refused to believe that his father, the great Bray that Trudy told so many stories of could be less than the perfect hero.

"He wouldn't make me go to the city," Bray told himself. "He'd know that this was home."

* * *

><p>Bray stood in the city and stared at the mall before him.<p>

He could tell it had been deserted for a long time. The streets were deadly silent. Dust lay heavy in every building.

He was almost afraid to enter the mall. He was terrified of what he might find there. He'd taken his time crossing the city. He'd explored the buildings he knew, had inspected the places that had been his regular haunts, all those years ago.

Contrary to what everyone had told him, the city was full of life. There were birds in the air, and perched on the roofs. Trees and weeds pushed their way through what were once roads. Rodents scampered in the walls and under the floors of every building. At one point a deer even leapt across his path, but it was startled by his approach and fled.

There was no sign of the great poison that had destroyed this city.

Yet nowhere were there signs of people.

Eventually there was nowhere else to go, and he could find no excuse not to reach his destination. After three days of exploring the city he was finally home.

The grill at the front was closed and locked. There was a freshly painted sign hanging from it. "Property of the Mall Rats, Do Not Enter."

Bray's heart caught in his throat. Maybe they were here.

He broke in through the sewers. They hadn't covered the entrance, but they didn't really need to. The grass and trees had grown so high you would struggle to find it you didn't know that it was already there.

Thick dust covered every floor and surface. The mall had been left in the middle of a busy day. Beds were unmade in what was clearly a room where children had slept. A pile of what had once been dirty dishes were piled beside the sink in the café. Clothes were strewn across floors in the bedrooms.

It was obvious that the occupants had fled in a hurry. It reminded Bray a lot of the state they'd first found the mall in so long ago.

Thick dust covered everything, but there were footprints and marks where it had been recently disturbed.

Someone (two people, by the look of the chairs) had sat at a table in the café. One of the bedrooms had been used not too long ago.

"You were here," Bray said the walls, although in his heart he spoke to Amber. "You were here recently, and you locked the gates, so you mean to come back again."

Two people had been here; there were two used beds and two used chairs.

As Bray set down his belongings in that same bedroom and prepared to wait for the return of those two Mallrats he dared to hope again.

Those two people could be Amber and her baby. They would be Amber and her baby. If he had to spend months here to wait for their return Bray would.

* * *

><p>Amber had volunteered for the next sweep, and the second scouter had been drawn by lots. It had been agreed that the aim of the mission would be to scout the other sectors of the city and find out if any of the other tribes had returned. The next group would return to the mall a week later.<p>

She sat in the kitchen late the night before she was due to leave again. She'd been back at the farm for barely three days now, and she couldn't wait to leave again and return to the city.

It was long gone midnight and she was sat alone staring into an empty mug when Trudy came in to get a drink.

"Amber, why are you still up?" Trudy whispered, surprised.

Smiling weakly Amber pulled back a chair for her friend. "I don't really want to face Jay if I'm totally honest Trudy."

Frowning Trudy sat beside her best friend. "Did you two have a fight?"

Amber shook her head. "Not yet, but I feel like he's planning to start one. He doesn't want me to go on the next patrol."

"I can see why," her friend reasoned. "He misses you when you're gone."

"I miss him too, but I won't be gone long."

"You'll be gone for four days Amber, it's longer than he likes."

Amber sighed in exasperation. "I _know,_ Trudy! I've heard it before and I feel it the same. I'm only doing what I have to do and he knows that. When we're back in the city we can be a proper family Jay, I and Bray."

Trudy smiled. "You've got a good heart, Amber. I admire the way you fight for what you believe in. Now go to bed will you. You have one more night with Jay, why waste it?"

"You're right, I suppose," Amber said, and forced a grin.

Trudy gave her best friend a hug before she stood up. "Oh, and Amber; remember to give Bray a hug tomorrow before you leave. He sulked for a day when you didn't say goodbye to him last week."

With a frown Amber nodded. "I'll remember Trudy, don't worry. Thank you for the advice, you always give the best. I need to take better care of my family."

Trudy laughed. "No Amber, you really don't. You need to realise that you already take great care of them."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes<strong>  
>It seems that updates are every six months! :O<p>

Not to worry, I got there in the end. Hope you enjoyed reading! More to come when I next have a spare moment to write :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Sammy let out a long, low whistle.

Amber grinned. "Yeah, it's a mess alright."

The hotel was no longer. A hole in the ground was where it once stood.

"The whole building went down in the explosion by the looks of it," Amber mused aloud.

Sammy stared at the pile of rubble. "How come there aren't any plants growing here like there is everywhere else?" he asked.

Amber kicked at a brick that lay near her feet. "I guess the virus hasn't totally gone. It probably still hovers over this area. We should get out of here and put up warning signs on all the streets that approach the hotel."

It took all afternoon to barricade off the area around the hotel, and by then they were a long way behind schedule.

They briefly looked in a couple of old tribe headquarters, a cinema and a bar, and then they made camp in an old warehouse. It didn't feel safe to be out after dark when they didn't know who else might have returned to the city.

* * *

><p>Bray moved his torch over the sign. It was the fourth approach he'd tried to take to reach the hotel, and it seemed all entrances were blocked.<br>"DANGER! Do not cross. Deadly virus may still live!" read this sign. The others had said the same or similar.

An old rusted car had been pushed to block the road and the freshly painted sign was hung on it. Bray hadn't reached this part of the city on previous nights and so he had no idea how recently the barricades had been moved there, but he was fairly sure it hadn't been too long ago.

He'd been in the city for a week now and had found that he was getting steadily more jumpy. On the roads he'd travelled these past few years there had always been someone; someone to befriend, to protect, or to stay well away from. Whether companion of enemy he'd always had to watch out for some reason. Since the first virus he'd learned to watch his back.

But here in this empty city he was totally alone. The pressing silence and constant loneliness was beginning to drive him mad.

He'd taken to sleeping during the day and exploring during the night. He felt safer if he kept moving when it was dark, as though no one could sneak up on him if he didn't stand still.

These barricades were the first indication of human life outside of the mall that Bray had come across in his night time ventures. But it wasn't much, and whoever had put them in place was long gone.

As he set off to continue his night time wanderings Bray wasn't sure why he heeded the signs. Maybe it was a sense of obligation to the only other people in the city, or a genuine fear of this horrible disease. Yet somehow he knew that there was no one behind that barrier and he would have to search somewhere else.

* * *

><p>"There was no sign of people at all. We should go unchallenged in the city," Amber concluded with a smile.<p>

Jack grinned widely. "That's the best news I think I've ever heard. Well…maybe not the best ever, but it's certainly good news."

Ellie was practically jumping up and down on her seat. "How soon can we leave?"

"We can basically leave tomorrow," Lex mused.

"For once I have to agree with him," drawled Ebony. "Pack up the chickens and the kids, it's not like it would take a long time."

Trudy placed her hands moodily on her hips. "I object to you comparing my daughter to livestock."

Waving Trudy's outrage aside May interrupted. "It'll take us at least a week to get all of us plus the livestock and our belongings across on the boat. And once we reach the city we have no real way of transporting it. The cars and trucks have had seven years to rust over there; I doubt any of them will be working."

Jack agreed. "I think we'll basically need everything. Once others on this island get wind of the fact that we've abandoned the farmhouse they'll take anything of use, and probably the farm too. Everything needs to go in as few trips as possible, but we've got more stuff than we can carry between us."

Everyone paused for a moment in thought, before Ram interrupted. "We leave a small group here. Two people, that's all it will take. And then we take everything across to the city. We don't dock outside the city but at the docks, and we find a building to store it in. If there's nobody else in the city yet nothing will get stolen.

When everything is moved to that warehouse the final two come across on the boat. Then we move things from the warehouse, one load at a time, across the city to the mall. It shouldn't be too hard. It will probably take three weeks maximum before we're moved into the mall."

"Then what are we waiting for!" screeched Gal. "Let's go pack already!"

Everyone started chattering excitedly, and Gal stood up to leave the room.

Amber banged her fist down on the table for silence.

"What's the matter Amber?" asked Ellie curiously.

Staring at the group around her in shock Amber uttered, "Have you all gone mad? We don't know how safe the mall is. We can't go yet!"

Everyone stared at her. "But Amber," said May, "you've been the one pushing for us to return as soon as possible. We all want to get back to the way things were. Let's just go, and patch things up when we get there!"

Slade nodded. "It doesn't make sense to just sit around here any longer. Keeping this farm house running wastes our resources and our energy. We're not all the young anymore."

"Slade's right," agreed Ruby, ignoring Ebony's glare. "We should just go as soon as we can. Just like you always said Amber."

Outnumbered, Amber looked to Jack for support. "Sorry Amber, I think they're right," he answered.

"Jay?" asked Amber hopefully.

Diplomatically, Jay didn't directly respond, but stood up. "We'll put it to the vote!" he intoned. "All in favour of sending a further scouting party raise your hand."

Only Trudy and Amber's hands were raised. It was obvious that the mothers had their children in mind.

"All in favour of leaving immediately raise their hands."

Every other hand in the room was raised. That is every hand but Jay's. As always he was trying very hard not to take a side. "Then that's settled then," Jay answered. "We leave as soon as we can."

* * *

><p>Amber threw the clothes into her bag. "We need a revote. We can't all go back now! We don't know if the mall's safe! What are they thinking?"<p>

"They overthrew you, Amber. You're the leader of this tribe because you stand up for democracy. This democracy voted." Her partner watched her worriedly. She was acting erratically.

"They voted wrong!" she almost shouted.

"Well what do you propose to do about it?"

She paused for a moment in her packing to look at him like he was an idiot. "Take someone who agrees with me and go back there tonight. I can be back here by the night after tomorrow, and by that time we'll know if it's safe." She started packing again in frenzy.

Jay forcefully tore the bag from her hands. "Stop it Amber!" he shouted. "You are not going back there. You took the last patrol and the one before that."

Narrowing her eyes dangerously Amber snatched the bag back. "Don't you dare tell me what to do, Jay! I will go where I please," she growled.

"I'm not telling you what to do! I'm trying to make you see sense. The Tribe voted no. We're going together."

"Oh yes, because that's sense," she screeched.

"Amber, that is truly ridiculous! You can't go alone. If you really disagree with this decision call another meeting. They care about you; they'll see your side. And if they vote in your favour send Jack and Slade."

"Have you forgotten how Ebony behaved last time Slade was gone without her. She's unmanageable Jay, and I won't be responsible for her."

"For goodness sake Amber, she was flirting with me, I wasn't paying attention. I'm not going to run off with her just because Slade's gone for a few days. In case you haven't noticed there's a wealth of single women on this farm and thus far I've controlled myself."

"Oh you're singing that tune again," she hissed.

"Well you brought up a long resolved argument."

"I was voted leader of this tribe. It is my job to make sure the best scout is sent. And that best scout is…"

"It isn't you, Amber," he interrupted. Gently yet firmly Jay took hold of her arm. "Amber you're acting like a jealous child. You're a leader, not a scout. The city isn't going anywhere."

"I'm not jealous of anyone!"

Jay sighed in defeat. "Just think on it Amber. And think of your family. You wouldn't have reason to think I was cheating if you were here more often. Plus Bray needs you."

"Bray needs a real home," Amber stated firmly. "A safe home. I'm not willing to march my son into a building that I haven't marked as safe."

"He does need a home," Jay agreed. "But he needs you too, and he needs to reach this city before his faith in you is totally lost. Please try to remember that, Amber."

* * *

><p>Bray and Brady knelt on either side of Salene as she lit a candle on the table in the corner of the room simply called the "Quiet Room". On the table, aside from a few candles, was a collection of rocks. When he was smaller Bray had thought there were hundreds of them, but now he was older he knew there were probably only about 20 or so.<p>

Each rock was a small smooth pebble, about the size of a grown man's fist, taken from the sea shore. On every one there was a name engraved, the name of every Mall Rat, or close friends to the Mall Rats, who had been lost during the years that the tribe had been together.

"Ten years," Brady would often whisper to Bray. "The tribe's been together since the day I was born."

To the older members of the tribe the names meant something deep and personal. They were long lost friends, sometimes lost lovers, wives, husbands or siblings. But to Bray and Brady the names were linked only to characters in the stories they'd heard, almost like the heroes of fairy tales.

"Salene," Brady whispered in hushed tones, "will you tell us a story please?"

It was almost a miracle for the two youngsters to be so calm and quiet. Yet in this room they always felt a need to be still. They knew that it was important.

"Of course, sweetheart. Who would you like to hear about?"

Brady looked at the stones, examining their roughly hewn names in the flickering candlelight. Only Bray didn't need to look at the stones to know who he wanted to hear about. "Tell us about my Daddy," he said.

Bray knew every story he'd ever been told about his father. He treasured them in his heart, and thought about the late at night when he was alone. Mostly he dwelt on them when Amber was with Jay and he felt distinctly lonely. He held fast to the fact that he had once been so loved and so wanted by both his mother and his father. He clung to the fact that his father had died trying to ensure he was brought safely into the world.

"Everybody loved Bray," Salene concluded her story. "And he loved you both, very much so."

"_I love him too_," thought Bray, but he didn't say it.

"I wish I could have met him," Brady said wistfully. "It's so sad he died. He was our tribe's hero."

"Amber's our hero too," Salene insisted. "She'll get us home safe and sound just like Bray would have wanted, don't you fret."

"_He wouldn't have forgotten me in the process," _thought Bray. "_My Daddy would have never stopped thinking about me."_

* * *

><p>They lay back to back in the small bed, an awkward silence hovering between them.<p>

It had been hours since the fight now, but instead of giving her space to cool off Jay was keeping tabs on Amber so close she felt like any moment she'd explode. She knew she'd provoked him into it. He didn't want her to run off alone and get hurt. But still she felt controlled and angry.

As she lay there in the darkness she heard the soft pitter-patter of feet from next door. Bray had gotten up to get a glass of water or something by the sounds of it.

A vision of Bray floated into her head, but not of him as a boy like he was now, but of him as a toddler, just learning to walk. She'd barely let Jay have a part in raising the boy. Jay had been too busy. Often she'd been too busy, leading the tribe through failed crops and silly spats. Trudy and Salene had been the ones to raise him in truth.

Amber couldn't remember the last time she'd really emotionally connected with her son.

She rolled over and cuddled close to her lover. She wasn't surprised to find that Jay wasn't asleep, and he wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm sorry Jay, you're right. I've become so obsessed with this city and with everything being perfect that I've lost sight of what's important. I need to spend more time with my son, and with you."

"Glad you've given yourself a chance to think it over," he mumbled. "Now we'll talk about this in the morning. For now, let's sleep."

* * *

><p>Bray lay on the bed in the mall; his only companion the mice in the walls.<p>

"Be safe Amber," he spoke into the darkness. "Be safe Trudy, Brady and my baby, wherever you are."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong>

Next chapter will be a little more exciting I promise.  
>Maybe I should have combined some of these chapters, made them a little longer but had a little more happen in each one!<br>I hope anyone who is still reading enjoyed this.  
>Hopefully the scene is set for a little drama next time.<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

They were packed and ready to leave by the end of the week. There simply wasn't a great deal to take with them. The majority of the farming equipment and livestock had to stay. They were taking two hens and their rooster, as well as two piglets. A few bags full of seeds were needed to plant some crops in the small grassy areas and parks in the city. With that they had enough to start a new life. They were glad to be setting out in spring whilst the animals were still small enough to carry.

On the second day of their preparation Trudy took the children to the market; they needed to trade the chickens and pigs for seeds. Trudy spun a tale of crops being a better use of their land to try to stop people from knowing that they planned to leave, and soon, but it was to no avail. Bray and Brady felt that they had to say goodbye to the other children on the island, and so by sunset everyone knew. The Mall Rats knew that the day they left the farmhouse would be overrun within hours.

Salene insisted on tidying and cleaning the farmhouse before they left. She wanted it to be left in a state where the other islanders could easily just move in if they so desired. They packed away the farm equipment, scrubbed and polished the kitchen, set the bedrooms to rights and even left a little note on the table to say that the building was free for use. Lex and Ram complained the whole way through the activities, but the enthusiasm of the girls won through.

And so with each person carrying their few possessions on their back, the rocks and candles from the shrine in a basket, and the men carrying the animals in little wooden boxes, they set off for the boat, looking much the same as they had all those years ago, though significantly less rushed.

"It seems so sad to finally leave this all behind," Ellie mused aloud as they walked down the dirt track to the boat.

Jack laughed. "I don't feel sad at all! I'm so glad to be getting away from all these hens and pigs and back to the nice, safe comfort of the city."

"Oh yeah? You're not getting so far away from them," Lex retorted, indicating the box in Jack's arms.

"You know what I meant," he muttered.

"Well Bray and I most definitely are sad about it," stated Brady boldly to the group.

Ebony ruffled her hair, despite Trudy's glares. "You'll love the city, pipsqueak," she reassured her.

* * *

><p>It took two trips and several hours to get all the Mall Rats safely to the other side of the water. The children took the second crossing, and to them it felt like years before their feet touched solid ground again. Brady was terribly sea sick even on the short voyage, but she was very brave and didn't complain too much, and later no one chose to remember how tightly she had had to cling to her mother when congratulating her on making it all the way.<p>

For Bray it felt like entering another world.

The buildings towered far above him, all the way to the sky. He had never even seen trees that tall, let alone buildings. He wondered how they stayed up. When he asked Jack, Bray was told that the buildings had a special sort of deep root called the foundations. It sounded silly to Bray that buildings should have roots, so he assumed that Jack had made it up because he didn't know how they stayed that tall either.

The city seemed double the size of their little island to Bray, not even counting how far it reached up. He felt dizzy and lost and tired by the time they'd taken two turnings. He felt like he'd never find his way around somewhere so vast.

"It's so quiet," whispered Brady, seemingly reluctant to break the pressing silence. "You used to make it sound noisy." She looked up at her mother for an explanation.

"It was noisy before the people left. Now it's more silent than the country side. There're no birds, and no trees for the wind to rustle in."

"It's like the bad old days, after the virus," said Jack. "You almost expect to hear a police siren…"

Whilst Brady held tightly onto her mother as they crossed the city, clearly terrified of their odd surroundings, Bray walked by himself. He carried all of his belongings on his back. With both hands he held tightly onto the pebble with his father's name on it, treating it as a precious treasure. He'd asked Salene if he could carry it, and she'd let him take it out of the big basket, after making him promise to be very careful.

As they travelled deeper into the city, closer to the mall, he longed to reach out for his mother's hand too. But she was holding Jay's hand, and instead Bray clutched the stone tightly and kept his gaze stubbornly ahead.

* * *

><p>The faint noise woke Bray from his slumber for the simple reason that it was a distinctly non-rodent sound. It sounded almost like the grill on the sewer entrance being lifted.<p>

Being significantly quieter than the mice in the walls, Bray got up and reached the baseball bat that he'd been keeping next to his bed. Despite his hope that it was Amber returning he couldn't afford to take the risk when there was no one to watch his back.

He crept to the top of the stairs. When he was on the landing he heard the voices. It sounded like a whole tribe. Bray knew he didn't stand a chance against more than three people when he had only a baseball bat. He hid in the shadows, watching carefully.

A little girl came running into the courtyard below. "Mummy it's _huge_!" she shouted. "This is the biggest room I've ever seen!"

"Brady, I said _don't_ run ahead, there could be anyone in here!"

Bray froze at the sound of the voice. It had been so long, he couldn't be sure it was Trudy. Brady's name should have left no question open but still he doubted. He'd have too many years of false hope.

And then a voice cut through the doubt in his mind, and reawakened the flame in his heart he'd long tried to burry. "There's no one here, Trudy, don't worry. The whole city is deserted." Bray would know that voice anywhere. It has haunted his dream for years. Amber was alive.

"Amber," he gasped, unable to contain his glee. Trudy heard him.

"Then what's that?" she breathed, drawing her daughter close.

* * *

><p>Lex was next into the room. "Why did you all run ahead?"<p>

"Shush, Lex, there's someone here," hissed Trudy.

"I didn't hear any…" began Brady.

"I did," counteracted Amber in a whisper. "Get everyone in here, Lex. Someone has got here before us. We need to split up and hunt them out."

Silently Lex did as she said. He quickly hushed everybody, brought them into the main area of the mall, and then Amber gave hurried, whispered instructions.

"Jay, Jack, Ellie, Ram, Sammy and Lottie; search upstairs. Slade, Ebony, Lex, May, Ruby; take downstairs, I'll come with you. Gal, Salene, Trudy; stay with the children."

A figure appeared on the balcony above. "That's alright, Amber," he said softly. "I swear to you, I'm the only one here."

* * *

><p>Bray was terrified. Shifting the pebble to his right hand he reached out for his mother with his left. He caught hold of her t-shirt and held it firmly in his fist. For an instant he thought she would push him away, but instead she put out her arm and drew him close.<p>

"Bray?" she asked in disbelief.

He looked up at her, his eyes full of frightened tears. Was she that surprised to see him scared of this stranger, when they were intruders in a strange land? But Amber wasn't addressing him. She was looking up at the man on the balcony.

"But…you've been dead for years."

"So were you…" the stranger began to walk carefully down the stairs. It was almost as if he were afraid of falling. He stopped in front of Amber and held out his arms. She fell into them. "Oh Bray," she wept.

Bray huddled at his mother's side. He reached out and touched the stranger's leg. Realisation was slowly dawning on him. "Daddy," he tried to say, but it came out as a squeak. The man looked down at the feeling of Bray's hand on his leg, but before he could speak Aunt Trudy was tearing them apart.

"Oh Bray I thought you were dead for sure," she sobbed. "How could you not come back? How? How?" She was beating her fists against the man's chest. Bray wanted to shout for her to stop, but his voice was gone and he clung harder to his mother. The man was laughing though, and soothing his aunt.

"It's nice to see you too, Trudy," he said, laughing as though he didn't know what else to do. The rest of the tribe looked on in shock.

And as Amber moved forward again, dragging Bray with her, a voice sounded from the back of the group, cutting through to happy reunion. "Amber?" enquired Jay. "What's going on?"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes<br>**Really should not be updating this fic, I know no one is reading it :D


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Amber?" enquired Jay. "What's going on?"

Jay's simple question had a profound effect. Amber turned, not to the Jay, nor to the stranger, but Salene. "Sal, will you take Brady and Bray and show them the mall. Let them chose a place to sleep." Next she looked at Lex. "Lex, check the barricades and secure the sewer entrance, we don't want any unwelcome visitors. Gal, Sammy, Lottie, please take Ruby to the café and put all our food and cooking equipment away. Ram, Jack, Ellie, I need our water and electricity supply up as soon as possible, and I'm counting on you to get that done. May, can you find a place for the animals to be kept safely. Slade, Ebony…"

Slade caught on straight away to the fact that Amber was trying to find jobs for everyone so that they would leave the room. "It's alright Amber, we'll scout the area and look for any food stores we can find," he interrupted swiftly. "I know a few places nearby where tribes kept their tinned stocks, even after all this time there might be something worth eating there. Even if there isn't we might find a few batteries."

Sensing urgency in her instructions the tribe hurried to obey. They quickly went to their tasks. On his way past Lex slapped the stranger on his back in a brotherly way. Jack gave him a nervous grin. Ebony raised her eyebrows, crossed her arms and smirked. She only left when Slade gently pulled her away. Salene took Bray's hand gently in one of her own, and Brady's in the other.

"Mum?" asked Brady confusedly.

"It's alright Brady, go with Salene. I'll come and find you soon," Trudy promised gently.

Bray allowed Salene to lead him away up the stairs, but he looked over his shoulder at the four adults stood below until they were finally out of sight.

* * *

><p>Amber waited until the children were out of sight, and hopefully out of earshot.<p>

"Jay, this is Bray." She explained, and hoped she need say no more. "Bray, this is Jay. He's… well… it's kind of a long story." She stood in the middle ground between the two men, trying to show no favour, unable to make a choice.

Bray seemed completely oblivious to the awkward situation unfolding around him. He strode forwards and took Amber into his arms. "Amber, it's been so long," he breathed. "Is it really you?"

In that moment, with the smell of him and the feel of him so close, Amber forgot everything but Bray, and how much she loved him. "It is really me. Bray… I thought you were dead."

"I thought you were dead once, too," he whispered, nuzzling her. "It seems that we're making a habit of this."

Despite herself Amber laughed at his poor joke. She felt like she was drowning, she didn't know how to respond, and so she clung to Bray to keep herself upright. "I feel dizzy," she muttered.

"So do I," he replied. "You're alive. I'm alive. And from the way the little kid was clinging to you I guess I can assume our baby lived. I have a son, Amber?"

"He's called Bray," she replied.

Bray looked longingly up the stairs after the children.

"Amber, what the hell is going on?" interrupted Jay angrily.

The bubble of isolation around the reunited couple burst suddenly. Quickly, guiltily, Amber pulled away from Bray. And suddenly, heavily, the true complications of the situation hit her. "Jay, I…"

But Jay wasn't looking at her.

"Who do you think you are? If you touch her again you will not know what's hit you, I swear." Jay didn't seem in the least confused; he simply acted as if he were incredibly angrily. Jay didn't often lose his temper, but he had now.

"I'm the father of her child," replied Bray calmly. "I think the appropriate question is who are you?"

Amber quickly got between them to prevent any physical violence from starting. "Jay, please."

"Please what, Amber?" Jay looked wounded.

"Just calm down, everybody, please," pleaded Trudy.

"I'm as calm as anyone would be when their woman's in the arms of another man," he responded coolly.

Bray was furious. "_Your_ woman?" he demanded, moving Amber aside in an attempt to get to Jay. Trudy grabbed one of his arms to hold him back, but she shook him off. His face was bright red, his expression livid.

"_My_ woman," replied Jay provocatively. "For seven years now."

"I don't belong to anyone!" yelled Amber. Yet the two men didn't listen. Bray broke free of Trudy's desperate attempts to hold him back, Jay pushed past Amber, and the two began to hit each other over and over.

The scuffle was heard by some of the other members of the tribe. Lex, Jack and Ellie rushed into the foyer, and together with Trudy and Amber they pulled the two men apart.

"Bray, man, hold yourself together," Lex urged.

"Yeah, Jay, just chill," said Jack. The two men fought for a moment, but unable to throw off their captors they eventually calmed.

"I think that you all need to sit down and talk," said Trudy gently, trying to restore some peace to the atmosphere.

Amber nodded gently. Lex released Bray and Jack let go of Jay. They didn't start fighting again, but they did glare at one another rather threateningly.

"I'll talk," began Bray in a tone that left no room for argument or negotiation, "but first I want to meet my son."

* * *

><p>"How does it feel Brady, to be here at last?" Salene asked Brady with a big, fake smile. Brady knew that failing to play along with Salene's distractions would probably make Salene fairly angry, or worse upset, so she simply answered the question, and didn't mention the strange man from downstairs.<p>

"It's so big!" she said, looking around her in awe. "It doesn't feel like a house."

Salene laughed. "It's not a house, sweetie, it's a mall. Didn't I ever tell you what a mall is?"

Brady shook her head.

Salene lead them through the café first, and then from room to room. The soft furnishings were a little moth eaten, everything was covered in a thick layer of dust, and rats and mice scratched in the walls. But everything was otherwise just as the Mall Rats had left it. The cupboards were full of clothes, the dressers of makeup, and the desks of papers. The beds were made in some rooms; in others they were less tidy. When they came to Trudy's old room they found that all of Brady's toys were scattered around. In Amber's old room stood Bray's old cradle. It was a surreal experience for Salene to explain the function of each room just before it had had to be abandoned, as well as what it had been like before the first virus.

"A mall was like a giant, indoor market place. You could buy or sell anything here. This room was a play room before we left, but before the virus it sold music."

Brady laughed. "Music, how can you sell music? Did they give the owner food in return for him singing songs?"

Salene scratched her head. "I'm not really sure how to explain. But you could record a song on a tape, and then you'd put it in a special machine and it would play the song back to you, any time. And we used to use money, not trading food. I've explained money before; I know that, it was one of your lessons."

"You're remembering wrong, Sal," said Brady, shaking her head. "You can't sell music, even in a mall."

The children were enchanted, though, with the old toy shop. Salene remembered how when they had first come here all of them had slept together in the toy shop. Patsy, Paul and Chloe had loved this room a lot. Salene explained that to the children now and that the shop had once sold nothing but toys and games for little children like them to have fun with. The two of them chose where they'd sleep straight away. "Can we sleep in here together, Salene?" Brady asked sweetly. "I'm big enough not to sleep beside mummy now, and I'll take care of Bray."

"I don't need taking care of," Bray protested, although he didn't protest the welcome company of sharing a room with his cousin.

"I'm sure that will be fine. I'll wash all the covers tomorrow," Salene promised.

Brady sat down on one of the beds. She sent up a cloud of dust, and when she'd finally finished her combination of coughing and giggling Salene noticed there were tears in her eyes.

"Sal… was that really Uncle Bray?" she asked quietly.

Bray sidled closer and sat down beside his cousin. Salene knelt in front of them and took their hands in hers. "Yes sweetheart, that was him. I don't know how, but it was." Salene turned to Bray with tears streaming silently by himself. "We've lost so many people from this Tribe. Some have vanished, some have died, but your parents, Bray, would appear to be immortal. Nothing could kill your mother, not even an explosion, and it seems that your father survived the Technos' deletion. I bet you are totally invincible," she joked, and ruffled his hair.

"What will happen to Jay?" asked Brady softly. "Aunt Amber can't have two husbands, can she?"

Salene shook her head. "I just don't know what will happen, Brady. It's up to Amber what happens next."

With determination Bray put his arm around his cousin. "Don't worry Brady," he said firmly. "Our hero's survived even the Technos'. Nothing will go wrong now my daddy is home." And Salene could tell from the glint in his eyes that Bray truly believed it.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong>

Thank you for all the wonderful reviews on the last chapter! I cannot tell you how much it made me smile. It's my first time writing for The Tribe, even though I've been a fan since I first discovered the series in 2003. I'm glad that I can make other fans happy.

I would really love a BETA for this story, because there are just so many characters! I'm terrified I'm going to slip up and miss someone out, or write someone terribly out of character! If you know The Tribe fairly well, and if you really love the series, pm me and we'll chat?

I welcome praise and criticism. All reviews that are signed will be replied to.

Also, Sam S, thank you for a wonderful review. You made my day my friend, you really did.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Notes:** In this chapter, apart from where it is obvious, Bray jr. is going to be referred to as Bray jr.. Bray is just Bray.  
>It was getting too confusing! If you are still confused, just tell me in a reviewpm and I'll work something out.

**Chapter 7**

When Amber and Trudy entered the room both Bray jr. and Brady were cuddled up to Salene. She was reading to them from an old story book. It had been Chloe's favourite long ago, if Amber remembered correctly.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Sal," Amber said gently. "We need to talk with Bray and Brady. Can you give us a few minutes?"

Salene gave Brady a quick hug and ruffled Bray's hair before she stood up to leave. "Thanks for distracting them," Trudy muttered to her as she passed by her.

Outside Salene found Bray waiting. He smiled nervously, but she flung herself at him in a hug. "We thought you were dead," she sobbed, unable to control herself.

Gingerly Bray hugged her back. "Well I'm back now," he said simply. "How're you?" It seemed like an odd question to ask after so long. So much had happened since they'd last met. But the simple question seemed to calm Salene, and she released him with a smile, and wiped her eyes.

"I've been good. I was with Pride for a long time, and after he died May rescued me. I have good friends, and I feel like I've finally found my calling."

"Oh…" said Bray, finding it a lot of information to take in.

"Yes, I help Trudy look after the children now."

Bray frowned. "I only saw two children. Doesn't Amber help?"

Nervously Salene smiled. "Oh no, Amber's much too busy leading the tribe. But don't worry; Bray's a wonderful little boy. You'll just love him, Bray!"

And with that Salene left the father to meet his son for the first time.

* * *

><p>"Bray, your daddy would like to meet you. Is that okay?"<p>

Bray stared at his mother for a very long time, taking in the look of shock and fear that marred her features. He didn't understand why she wasn't happy.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

She reached out and stroked his hair. Bray didn't really know what to do. It was a long time since Amber had paid this much attention to him: she'd been so wrapped up in getting the Mall Rats back to the city. "I'm scared, Bray," she told him honestly. "I thought that your daddy was dead."

Bray took hold of her hand and squeezed it. "Don't worry mummy." It felt odd to call her that; he'd called her Amber for so long. His little smile gave her some comfort. "He's back now."

Amber nodded and stood up. She looked towards the door. Sometime during their little exchange Trudy had led Brady away. Bray was alone in the room with his mother.

"You can come in now," Amber said in the direction of the door.

* * *

><p>Bray hovered nervously just inside the doorway. Before Amber stood a little boy of only eight years old; his hair was blonde, and spiked up on top of his head. He had his mother's looks; his face, ears, and nose were hers. But his eyes were a bright blue. His clothes were scruffy, his shoes looked too small, and on his face were childish, clumsily drawn symbols. It was clear that this was a child who insisted on dressing himself.<p>

"Hi," said Bray, not knowing what else to say.

Shy children often hide behind their mother's legs. As a toddler Brady had often hid behind her mother if somebody new entered the room. This little boy did no such thing. Although it was clear he was just as nervous as Bray felt he took a deep breath, put on a big smile and said, in his sunniest voice, "Hello!"

Bray glanced at Amber. She looked relieved that her son was being friendly.

"Bray," she said, addressing the little boy, "this is your Daddy."

The little boy smirked. "I know that. My name's Bray too," he said to Bray. "I know everything about you!"

"You know more than me then kid, I know nothing about you."

Bray's son smiled wider. "That's okay. I can tell you everything."

Amber patted her son's shoulder. "I'll leave you two to get better acquainted I think," she said. She made to leave, but Bray reached out to stop her. He pulled her close and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. "We'll sort everything out, don't worry," he reassured her, and then he let her leave him alone with his son.

* * *

><p>Amber practically fell into a chair in the café. She was well aware that everybody was watching her, but she was beyond caring. She put her head down on the table, and began to weep.<p>

The shock of seeing Bray return from the grave, the confusion about her own feelings for her former lover, and the sheer relief of finally being home was totally overwhelming. Amber just didn't know what to do. Given a year alone to sort it all out in her head she was sure that she would never come to a conclusion. There was just too much emotion for one person to take. So she sat and wept until she had no more tears.

She looked up only when Trudy put her arm around her. "Amber, you have to come quickly. Jay's leaving."

* * *

><p>Bray jr. looked up at the man in front of him, his dad. "What do you want to know?" he asked.<p>

His father came and sat beside him. "I'll start with an easy one. How old are you?"

Bray jr. held up eight fingers. "Don't you know that? You were there when I was born!"

"I knew," Bray replied. He'd been counting almost every day. "It was a test. How old am I?"

After thinking for a few moments Bray jr. had to admit defeat.

"That's one point to me then!" Bray declared. "What do you like to do best?"

Bray jr. didn't need any time to think. "I love climbing trees! I can get higher than anybody else."

Despite himself Bray felt a sudden rush of pride. As children he and Martin had often climbed trees together. Martin had always been jealous that Bray could climb so high, but Bray had always pushed himself harder. One summer he'd broken his arm falling out of a tree, but he'd never been put off from climbing again as soon as he was well. He'd simply loved the sense of adventure.

"I used to love that too. I like your makeup," Bray continued the conversation. "Did you do it yourself?"

"Oh yeah!" he enthused. "Brady tries to help me but I won't let her. She says I look ugly, but she'd probably just draw flowers and make me look like a girl."

Bray couldn't help but smile. "I think it looks very cool."

"But you don't have any makeup!" gasped Bray jr., looking his father up and down. "Why?"

It hadn't occurred to Bray that he hadn't put on makeup. It had always been the norm to take pride in the markings that the tribes used to decorate their skin. When warm water for bathing became scarce, and new clothes had to be made by hand, decorating the skin with paint had become the way that the surviving generation had defined themselves.

Bray's years alone had put their mark on his appearance. He washed, because otherwise he'd be unhealthy. He cared for his hair because if he didn't it would get in the way. But makeup had simply become unnecessary. He hadn't marked his skin in a long time. "I've been alone for so long that it just didn't seem important," Bray tried to explain, but his son didn't understand. It occurred to Bray that his son had never seen the world before the virus; he'd never seen a person who didn't use makeup to decorate their skin.

The little boy jumped off the bed and bounded over to the corner of the room. There were two little backpacks there. He picked up one and rummaged in the front pocket. "Well don't worry, I have my paint right here! I'll do you cool makeup to match mine!"

The little boy's enthusiasm was so great that Bray just couldn't say no

* * *

><p>Jay had all his belongings on his back again, and a small selection of food in a bag under his arm. Amber caught him just before he entered the old sewers.<p>

"Jay, please wait," she shouted.

Much to her surprise, and her relief, he stopped: she didn't have the energy left to chase him.

"I'm leaving, Amber."

She came to stand in front of him. Briefly she thought about arguing, but realised that there was nothing she could say that would make everything that had happened in the last few hours okay. She couldn't undo it anymore. So she did what she had always done these last few years, whenever something seemed too much.

She fell into Jay's arms.

His bag of food clattered to the floor. Neither of them took any notice. She grabbed at him, clung to him, kissed him feverishly. He pulled her closer.

Jay needed this justification.

"Don't go Jay," she breathed between kisses. "Please. I need you."

Jay pulled back from Amber a little. "I wish it were that simple Amber," he said softly, stroking her hair. "But you love him."

Tears poured slowly from Amber's eyes. "I love you too, Jay. I'd forgotten about Bray. I'd moved on!"

Jay laughed half-heartedly. "You never forgot about Bray, Amber. You moved on, but you never forgot about him."

"Just don't go, Jay, please."

With a sigh Jay pulled her back against him. "I'll stay," he agreed reluctantly. "For as long as you want me to."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes: <strong>A lot of my reviewers are very anti-Jay, so I'm hoping that this ending doesn't put you off waiting for the next chapter!


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

It seemed to Trudy that Amber was terrified of letting Jay out of her sight, lest he try to leave again.

Trudy felt that Amber's fear was a little exaggerated, though it probably had been a good idea to send somebody else to get Bray and bring him to the meeting. Jay wouldn't take well to Amber running after her former lover.

As she approached the door to what had once been Patsy, Paul and Chloe's room Trudy's head was filled with memories. She reached for the door handle, but something made her pause. She heard giggling coming from behind the door. It occurred to her that she could be interrupting something deeply important: after all, this was the very first time that little Bray had ever laid eyes on his father.

Instead of just walking in as she'd intended, Trudy knocked. "Come in!" said the familiar voice of Bray jr. happily.

The sight that met Trudy when she opened the door brought a smile to her face. Bray's arms and face were covered in childish paintings. A yellow sun adorned his right cheek, a red star his left. A wonky blue lightning bolt spanned the length of his left arm. Little Bray was currently holding his father's right arm, and with a set of home-made face paints he was finger-painting an elaborate pattern onto the skin. He was bighting his bottom lip in concentration.

"That looks really cool, kiddo," his father said enthusiastically. "What is it?"

Trudy's grin got wider. It took most parents several slip ups to realise that you didn't attempt to make a guess at what your child was drawing. It seemed that Bray was a natural.

"It's a bird," the little boy half sang, he was so happy. "A cool bird; like an eagle."

Trudy simply stood in the doorway and watched the pair. Their interaction was so natural that it was hard to believe that they had never met before. Little Bray's eyes shone with adoration whenever he looked at Bray. Sadness settled over Trudy, mixing bitterly with the happiness she saw in the two. She knew that Bray jr. and Jay had never seen eye to eye, and if he allied himself with Bray the resulting turmoil had potential to tear a family, if not the whole tribe, apart.

"Bray sweetie," she called to her nephew. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but your mum's called a meeting."

Bray jr. pulled a face. "Can you tell her to wait just five minutes," he begged, putting on his saddest frown. "I've nearly finished Daddy's makeup."

One word, _Daddy_, made Trudy's heart leap. Bray jr. didn't normally even address Amber as Mum.

Quickly Bray picked up his son. Bray jr. shrieked gleefully as Bray lifted him high into the air and slung him over his shoulder.

"Come on now, your mother calls, and if I remember her correctly, we don't want to make her angry."

And with his laughing son over his shoulder, Bray pushed past Trudy with a nervous smile, and made his way to the café

* * *

><p>The giggling and gleeful shouting echoed around the mall. Several of the Mall Rats couldn't help but smile. It was as though their home was coming back to life again.<p>

Bray came around the corner into the café, his giggling son over his shoulder. Every eye was upon him. Carefully Bray lifted the little boy down and placed him on his feet. Trudy came running in after them, looking flustered.

"Have a seat, Bray," Ellie said, pulling back a chair. As Bray moved to sit down, Amber raised her eyebrows at her son. He made for the stairs, stamping his feet on the way.

"Where's he going?" asked Bray to the gathered tribe. "Doesn't he have to be in the meeting?"

Trudy took a seat beside Gal. "We agreed that Brady and Bray weren't allowed to be here or to vote until they turned thirteen. Lottie is supervising them."

Bray looked horrified. "That can't be fair! Every Mall Rat has always been allowed to vote, regardless of age."

"So they should have been allowed to vote at three, or four? They're children, and for seven years now it has been this way. So take your nose out of business that isn't yours." Jay was incredibly angry.

Amber stood up quickly. "The matter at hand has nothing to do with voting. We decided that a long time ago," she stated simply, trying to calm the argument. "We need to assign tasks for the next few days and weeks so that we can get the mall back up to scratch. And also…" Amber took a deep breath; she knew that her next words would cause uproar, "…we need to vote on whether or not Bray is allowed back in the tribe."

The room erupted. "That's madness," shouted Jack.

"It's _Bray_!" pleaded Trudy.

"I was here when this tribe was founded!" insisted Bray.

Patiently, Amber held up her hand and waited for silence. When silence finally fell it didn't last long enough for Amber to speak, because Ebony butted in. "Bray has been here since the very beginning. I don't see why allowing him to stay here is even up for question. Why are we having a meeting? We should be having a party!"

Amber rolled her eyes. "Fine, we'll get that out of the way first. All in favour of Bray staying raise your hand."

Every member of the tribe, bar Jay, did.

"Great," said Ebony. "Welcome home Bray."

Bray smirked. "I think I should be welcoming all of you home, after all, I was here first."

"I think Ebony's party idea sounds great," said Slade. "It's been a tough few days, and we could all do with a break. Amber?"

Amber looked blank. "What?"

"Don't you think it's about time that we had a party? We're finally back in the city, and this man has apparently come back from the dead. Can we have a night off?"

Reluctantly, Amber put forward the next motion. "All in favour of a party?" she asked.

The vote was universal in favour of a celebration, bar two.

* * *

><p>The mall looked the best it had in a long time. The floors were swept, light filled the whole building, and streamers had been put up everywhere.<p>

Best of all, though, was something special that Salene had been saving. "All these years I've been hiding these," she said, bringing out a small packet. "I thought it would be a great way to celebrate coming home. I don't imagine you kids will ever see these again."

The brightly coloured balloons had "Happy Birthday" written on the side, but they inflated them and hung them around the room anyway. Brady had become so upset when she popped a balloon that she'd ended up crying, but Bray jr. begged to be allowed to pop the rest of them.

Bray couldn't move for old friends crowded around him. He desperately wanted to speak to Amber, and only Amber, but he simply couldn't get near her. She seemed to be avoiding him. Again and again he told the story of what had happened to him these last years to his friends, brought news of the rest of the world, but he was growing weary of retelling his story.

Although Amber may have been avoiding him, Bray jr. was doing anything but.

Every few minutes the little boy would run over. Sometimes he had something to tell Bray, normally babbled so quickly that Bray didn't understand a word of what was said. Other times he just came over to listen. He'd come right up close and rest a hand on Bray's knee, and just listen to whatever he happened to be saying at the time.

The faces of the other Mall Rats were blurring into one, but Bray jr.'s face stood out as a ray of hope in Bray's miserable evening. This little boy wanted him here, at the very least, even if Amber didn't.

* * *

><p>Amber had snuck away from the party early, but Jay hadn't bothered to show up at all. Amber found him sitting on the bed in their old bedroom.<p>

"How's Bray?" he asked bitterly.

"Jay," she touched his shoulder gently, but he flinched away from her.

She sat down beside him. Suddenly she felt tired, and incredibly old. "Do you think seven years mean nothing to me?"

Amber sounded so miserable, so torn that Jay simply couldn't be angry at her any longer. He reached out and wrapped her in his arms. She was so relieved that she began to sob on his shoulder. "I've loved you for seven years Jay," she sobbed.

"I know," he reassured in his most soothing voice. "And I've had you in my arms for seven more years than I deserve. But it's not enough Amber."

Her sobs became almost hysterical. "It is enough," she insisted. "We'll make it enough." She clung to him so tightly that he knew her nails would leave marks on his skin. He didn't mind that she was hurting him, but he hated that his words were hurting her.

"Amber, had you hugged Bray, kissed Bray, slept with Bray I could forgive you…eventually." He stroked her hair and inhaled her scent. He savoured her, knowing that this could shatter at any moment. "But the moment that you left him alone with your son, it was then that I realised that I would never measure up to him."

Amber pulled back from him and looked him in the eye. Never had such an emotional barrier existed between the two as it did now. "What does Bray have to do with this?" she asked. "The little one, I mean."

The smile that came to Jay's face was bitter. "Ever since he was a baby, you never let me touch him," said Jay, matter-of-factly. "Whenever you were busy you would leave him with Trudy, or Salene. If you couldn't tuck him into bed, May would. You didn't trust me, not completely. Not with Bray's son." Jay reached a hand up to wipe his brow and found that he was sweating. "Bray, the little one, he has spent his whole life knowing that his mother was sharing a bed with the man who helped to kill his father. He despises me Amber, and he despises you for loving me, despite knowing what I did. He's built Bray into a superhero in his head, and you only helped that fantasy." Amber's mouth hung open, her shock was tangible. Jay didn't wait for her to respond before continuing. "When they saw each other earlier today, they each found what they had longed for all this time. Bray found his son, and his son found a parent who would lavish him with undivided attention."

Amber took this all in slowly. Jay could see the anger building in her, and prepared for an onslaught. "So they love each other!" she said. "Bray's his father, is that not allowed? Before the virus lots of couple's split up. Children didn't stop loving their fathers, even if they got a new one."

Jay shook his head. "But that normally only happened when the mother stopped loving the father, Amber. And you have never stopped loving Bray."

"I love you," insisted Amber.

"I know." He kissed her forehead tenderly. Despite everything that Jay had said, he couldn't find the courage to say what was really on his mind. _But you'll always love him more._

* * *

><p><em><em>**Author's Note:  
><strong>Thank you so much for your continued support and encouragement, and for the wonderful constructive criticism I've been receiving.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Bray woke in the middle of the night. It wasn't unusual for him to sleep light. He'd never been a heavy sleeper, and the years of war and turmoil had made him wary of the smallest sound. Remembering where he was, and that he was safe, he turned over to sleep, but he saw a figure standing in the doorway.

"Hello?" he called.

"Sorry!" came a familiar voice, and Trudy stepped into the room so that he could see her. "I didn't mean to wake you, but I'm just finding it so hard to believe that you're alive, after all this time." Even in the dark Bray could tell that she was embarrassed.

"It's fine." He reached out for the box of matches on his bedside table and lit a candle. "I wanted to talk to you anyway."

Trudy came to sit in the chair beside Bray's bed.

Bray looked very uncomfortable. Trudy simply smiled encouragingly.

"Brady has grown up beautifully," he finally said, choosing a safe topic. "You've become an amazing mum, Trudy."

Blushing with pride Trudy said, "She is, isn't she? Thank you."

Bray lapsed into silence again. Even after all these years Trudy knew how to read his feelings. They'd grown so close over those years, like brother and sister, and unlike the feelings of romance that had grown and faded so quickly in those early years, that feeling of family had never left.

"What do you think of little Bray?" she asked gently.

By the light in his eyes and the smile on his lips it was easy to tell exactly what Bray thought of his son. "He's simply amazing, isn't he? I'm so sorry I missed this much."

"Where were you all this time?" Trudy was unable to hold back her questions any longer. "I know you've been asked this, over and over, and you probably have more questions for us, but…"

Bray held up his hand to halt her, and grinned. "I don't mind telling you, Trudy." Taking a deep breath and running his hand through his hair Bray prepared to relive some of the most painful years of his life.

"After I went to get help for Amber, and left her in that barn, I was picked up by the first Techno invasion forces. Back then they were just picking people up wherever they found them. There was some senior officer processing us, deciding where we would be most useful. I was sent to work on a large farm on the South Island."

"What was it like?" Trudy asked.

"It was a labour camp," explained Bray calmly. "We were chained at night and guarded by day. A thousand and one escape plans came to mind, but there was never an opportunity to implement one. They were organised, so organised. It was like they knew exactly what they were doing."

"What do you mean?" probed Trudy.

He paused for a moment to consider how best to explain it. "They knew how to keep people demoralised, and working. We never got a chance to communicate. In all the time I was there I only learnt the name of one fellow prisoner. The routine was relentless. After a while you just couldn't help but stop fighting back."

"How did you escape?" she enquired eagerly, sensing a story.

To her surprise, Bray burst out laughing. "I didn't. Eventually they all just left. First the commanders, and eventually the guards realised they weren't getting paid, and so they simply left. We were pretty much set free."

It was hard for Trudy to believe that Bray, who had always overcome every trouble they had come across, had not managed to overcome his captors. "Was it that bad?"

"And worse." Bray smiled at her in reassurance. "But it doesn't matter anymore, that was a long time ago."

Trudy smiled weakly at her old friend. "And then?"

Bray rubbed his forehead, as though he had a headache. "Then came the most difficult part; I heard about the city, and knew that I couldn't come back. There was a steady stream of people fleeing the city, so I found the route that they were fleeing through, and waited. There was simply no news of you at all. So after a year of waiting I packed my bags, and I left. I travelled."

"Where did you go?"

"I got on a boat. I ended up in Australia."

Trudy was awed. "You got that far?" For the next half hour she drank in all of Bray's tales of far off lands. To tell everything would have taken weeks, so he simply summarised his journey.

"No matter where I went, no matter who I met, I just couldn't find…" After so long talking, Bray's words finally failed him.

"Home?" suggested Trudy.

Bray's face seemed to crack. His happy smile fell away, to be replaced by a look of sheer pain. "Amber," he corrected gently.

* * *

><p>Sat at a table in the café, a bowl of untouched cereal before her, Amber looked incredibly frustrated. Her hair was dishevelled, her makeup smudged and there were bags under her eyes. Despite Jay's soothing words and gentle arms she had not been able to sleep last night, and right now she felt like even eating breakfast was a task too big to face.<p>

Trudy came to sit beside her friend. She knew the look on Amber's face so well; it was one of hopelessness and despair. Many times Amber had slumped into a pit like this, but always she had dragged herself out of it, fighting tooth and nail against the overwhelming burdens that had always threatened to consume her. Trudy knew very well that Amber would fight through her troubles and do what was best for everyone, but she was worried that Amber might need a little push to do what was best for herself.

"You should talk to him," suggested Trudy simply.

Amber came out of her stupor with a start. "I did already. We're good now. You know me and Jay; we never take long to work through our little spats."

Trudy smiled sympathetically. "I'm glad," she said gently. "But I meant that you should talk to Bray."

Amber didn't bother to reply. She just looked Trudy right in the eye.

"Oh don't give me that!" responded the other girl stubbornly. "Are you really trying to tell me that when the man of your dreams comes back from the dead after eight years you're not going to speak to him? Why? Is it because your boyfriend threw a tantrum?"

"Jay didn't throw a tantrum!"

Trudy's only reply was a disbelieving snort.

"And besides, it's not easy to just open up and talk to someone after so long. He could be a total stranger now."

Smiling weakly Trudy quickly waved aside her friend's defence. "We spoke for over an hour this morning, Amber. He is definitely still the same old Bray. A little older, maybe, but he's not changed half as much as we all must have."

"I just don't want to," replied Amber, continuing to be stubborn. She rested her head on her crossed arms in frustration.

Even after all this time, it was in situations like this that the Mallrats felt like they were still children. Amber still longed for the wise, comforting words of her mother and father. Yet in all this time she had learned they would not ever come again. It was up to her, and her well-meaning friends, to figure things out. So when Trudy spoke she listened, even if she didn't always like what she heard, because she knew that it was some of the best advice she was ever going to get.

"If not for your own sake, you need to do this for the sake of your son. Little Bray needs you to stand up for him, Amber. He misses you."

Amber looked at her friend in confusion. "I'm right here," she stated simply. "Why would he miss me?"

The sad look that crossed Trudy's face deeply troubled Amber. She suddenly realised that she had missed something vital in her little boy that her best friend had seen. "Is Bray alright, Trudy?"

Trudy sighed. "He won't be for long, Amber. He misses your love and attention. When was the last time that you hugged him, or made his breakfast, or tucked him in at night? He wants you to notice him, and you're so wrapped up in leading the tribe and your relationship with Jay that you're forgetting to look out for your son."

"I think that's a bit harsh!" said Amber, standing up to look her friend in the eye.

"It wasn't meant to be," Trudy implored, and laid a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder.

"I thought he didn't want attention anymore," said Amber simply and truthfully. "He avoids me so often, and he quarrels only with me, so I thought that maybe he had grown up already, and didn't need me anymore." As Amber explained these simple truths the reality of how much her son's rejection had hurt welled up inside of her, and she found herself sobbing on Trudy's shoulder. "You're a much better mum than me, a natural. I thought that he loved you more. He didn't need me."

Trudy hugged Amber tightly. "Little Bray will always need you Amber. We never stop loving our parents. I still crave my mother's attention, and she's been dead for more than a decade! Don't you wish your parents could still say 'I love you'?"

Pulling back from her friend, Amber wiped her tears. "I still dream about it."

"So does your son," Trudy insisted.

Amber nodded, and a look of resolve crossed her face. "I suppose the only difference is that his parents are still alive. Thank you, Trudy."

Amber left her uneaten bowl of cereal on the table, and went to find her son.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Thank you so much for your continued support! I'm so glad so many of you are enjoying this story, and all comments, negative and positive, are very helpful. I will reply to all signed reviews!


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Salene had set Bray jr. and Brady to tidying their new bedroom before leaving to help the adults set the mall back in order. They moved the dusty covers to one side, piled the clothes in an empty box, and then proceeded to make even more of a mess by exploring all of the cupboards. Soon toys and books were littered across the floor and beds.

When Amber entered to find her son, she found him and Brady jumping on the beds, hitting one another gleefully with pillows.

"Bray!" she yelled in shock.

Bray jr. quickly turned around, and earned a pillow to the back of his head for his momentary lapse in concentration.

"Hey!" he yelled at Brady, totally forgetting his mother. Brady shrieked and jumped off the bed, fleeing from her cousin's wrath, but before Bray jr. could follow, his mother had grabbed his wrist.

Bray jr. dropped his pillow and bowed his head, waiting for the inevitable lecture about sensible play. Instead Amber bent down to look him in the eye.

"Are you okay, Bray?" she asked him softly.

Mistaking her concern, Bray jr. gave her a smile to show that he was just fine. "Sure, Amber, it was just a pillow."

His mother blinked for a moment, not connecting his reply with her question. When it finally dawned on her that her son had assumed she was trying to apologize for causing him to get hit by Brady, she smiled and ruffled his hair. "I'm glad you're alright," she said happily.

Deciding that the best way to teach was to lead by example Amber bent to pick up a toy from the floor. "Let's get this room back in order before Salene gets back," she encouraged as she began to move things to their place. "She'd be mad if she found you two fighting!"

Brady jumped to follow Amber's instructions, but when Amber looked up from her task Bray jr. was stood idly in the middle of the room.

With more effort than she had expected it to take, Amber quelled her temper at her son's disobedience. "Hop to it, Bray! Chores don't do themselves," she encouraged cheerfully. It was odd to say something to him so gently, she realised. Normally she'd have shouted at him for standing still for so long.

Bray jr. looked dubious. "You're not mad?" he asked cautiously.

The fear in his eyes nearly drove Amber to tears. It was only now, with Trudy's warnings till ringing in her ears, that Amber was able to see the great distance she'd put between herself and her son. "I'm not mad, Bray. Come here and help me tidy up."

He did as he was asked, although he did it hesitantly.

That day Amber gave Salene the day off. She insisted on supervising both Bray and Brady herself, and together the three of them did the children's chores. Amber knew she had to find a way to understand her son, and she thought that understanding his routine was probably the best place to start.

After they'd tidied the bedroom they fed the chickens and collected the eggs. Amber found the task harder than she remembered, because she was constantly making too much noise and scaring the birds. By her untrained hand a large number of the chickens escaped their pen. Bray jr., however, fed the chickens with a gentle, slow and practiced hand. He never once alarmed the animals, and they didn't peck at his hands when he tried to take their eggs. It was clear that through patience and familiarity he had earned their trust.

"How do you do that?" Amber asked, exasperated, as her son rescued her from a particularly disgruntled chicken. "Why does it do what you want?"

"Mostly just because they know what I want," he said, herding the chickens back into their pen with his arms outstretched. "You have to be slow and gentle. If you shout or wave your arms they'll never listen."

Brady was carefully arranging the eggs in a basket. "It's not difficult Amber, but it takes a lot of practice."

"Did somebody lose this?" asked an amused voice from behind them. Amber turned to find her former lover standing holding a chicken. Calmly Bray handed the livestock to his son. "You need to be more careful, Bray, or you'll lose one of them."

"It wasn't me, it was Amber!" he protested.

Bray ruffled Bray jr.'s hair. "Don't be cheeky, she's called mum to you," Bray warned, although his amused smile removed all force from his warning.

"Bray's always called me Amber," Amber interrupted fiercely. She put one hand on her son's shoulder and drew him close. "I don't see any problem with it!"

Bray faltered in the face of her aggression. "He's only got one mum," Bray uttered, looking confused. "My parents always made me call them mum and dad. Don't you want him to?"

Taken aback Amber didn't reply straight away. Secretly she longed for Bray jr. to call her mummy just once more. It was a dream she'd set aside long ago, probably when she let her friends take over the parenting. Now she realised that it was just another sign that she was losing her son.

Bray saw that Amber was struggling for words. He smiled gently. "It's okay, Amber. I'm here to help, you know, not stop you from parenting. Have a good day, little one, and don't lose any more chickens! Bye Brady." Bray petted his niece on the head as he left to go back to his own chores.

"Don't you like Uncle Bray, Amber?" Brady asked curiously.

Bray jr. looked up at his mother expectantly for her answer. "It's a great deal more complicated than that, Brady," Amber answered, looking pained. "But no, of course I like Bray. Now let's take those eggs to the café and get on with your lessons."

All the way up to the café Bray jr. tried to stall, but his mother saw right through his act and hurried him along. Bray jr. hated lessons, especially reading. As his mother believed that many ideas were contained within books, whenever she took the day's classes reading was always on the timetable.

"Chose a book, Bray, and come and sit beside me," she instructed calmly as soon as they were done with their tasks.

Sulking, Bray jr. stormed across the room to the bookcase. He took a great deal of time to choose the easiest book with the most pictures. Amber was not impressed.

"You could read this book two years ago, Bray. Another book please, and one you haven't tried before."

Even more angrily than before, Bray jr. crossed the room. At the farmhouse he had known all the stories in all the books they owned by heart, and he had learnt to cheat his way around his reading lessons by simply reciting the words from memory. Here in the mall he was confronted by a whole new library of books, and he didn't know the words in any of them. This time he chose a book with a red cover, because red was his favourite colour. He just hoped that this book wouldn't be too difficult.

"Thank you," said Amber politely as Bray jr. took the seat next to her. "Shall we start from the beginning?"

As Bray jr. struggled with his reading lesson Amber tried to remember the last time she had read with her son. It was several months now, and by the way he stumbled often over the words Amber could tell that he'd been tricking Salene when it came to reading. She wondered how it was possible she hadn't noticed something so important in so long, and she silently thanked Trudy for setting her back in line over breakfast. No son of Amber's was growing up unable to read if she had anything to do with it!

Numeracy came after reading, and Amber drilled Bray jr. on his times tables, which he knew by heart. Brady struggled over her sevens, but said the nines so beautifully that Amber had to praise her. She took such joy in her teaching that day.

By dinner time Amber had begun to see her little boy in a whole new light.

Mai and Sammy had cooked dinner that evening. Mostly they'd just reheated the leftovers from the night before, but Sammy was rather a skilled chef, and he'd managed to throw together the mishmash of ingredients into a dish that tasted great.

As Amber and the children took a seat at a table with Trudy, Bray entered the room.

"Daddy, sit with us!" shouted Bray jr. excitedly. Bray retrieved a plate of food and came to sit between Trudy and his son.

"Hey kiddo; how was your day?" Bray asked the boy cheerfully.

"It has horrid," he said, pulling a face. "Mum made me read."

Bray burst out laughing, and happily continued the conversation with his son. All seemed oblivious to the fact that Amber's heart seemed to have skipped a beat. _Mum_ she thought _he called me mum._

As the five of them were nearing the end of the meal Lex and Jay walked in. The two were deep in conversation which seemed to be threatening to spill over into an argument. Lex's first instinct upon entering the café was to make a direct line for the food. Jay however cast his eyes around for Amber.

Seeing Amber sat at a table with her former lover was a real blow to Jay. Amber, caught up in the conversation bouncing back and forth between Bray and the two children, hadn't noticed Jay enter the room. He looked on at the laughter and happy smiles, and felt suddenly isolated.

Keeping his voice measured and calm took great difficulty, but he managed to say "Amber, can I have a word please?" without sounding aggressive.

Confusedly Amber left her plate and followed her boyfriend out of the café.

"What is it Jay? Is something the matter?" asked Amber as soon as they were out of earshot of the café.

"Yes. What was that?" he probed.

"What was…what?" Amber looked baffled.

"Why were you eating with Bray?" he pleaded, his eyes betraying the pain he felt.

Amber's confusion melted away into understanding as she read Jay's familiar face. "Oh Jay, we were just eating together."

"I don't like it," he muttered, more to himself than to her.

The statement had a negative effect on his girlfriend. Amber's eyes darkened and her smile turned to a frown. "What was I supposed to do, ignore him?" she responded aggressively. "Little Bray asked him to come and sit at our table. I couldn't very well tell the father of my child that he wasn't allowed to eat with him."

It was Jay's turn to look confused. "Then let them eat together away from you. I don't see why you have to be there."

Amber grew even more furious. "Because he's my son too!" she insisted.

Sensing a worry in his girlfriend that went beyond the issue at hand Jay made a valiant effort to control his jealousy. "Amber, is something the matter?" he asked, trying his best to remove the anger from his voice.

Reluctant to speak, Amber bit her lip and looked down. "It's little Bray," she muttered eventually.

Jay flew into a panic. "Is he sick, Amber? It can't be the virus, can it? Did we come back to the city too soon? I'm sorry Amber I didn't know!"

Lovingly she placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "He's not sick, Jay. But I'm losing him in a different way. I can't push Bray away, because my son adores him. I've pushed my little one away so much these last few years that I barely even know who he is anymore. I've made a mistake, but you can be sure I won't keep making it. I won't let my son go without a fight, Jay, of that you can be sure. Please excuse me, but I have a meal to finish." And with a swift kiss on Jay's cheek, Amber entered the café once more.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Hey all! I want to thank you for your many reviews and messages of support. I love reading them and chatting to you all about The Tribe. Please don't be afraid to review or message me. I'm always happy to discuss both positive and negative feedback. There won't be another update for a little while because for a month I'm going travelling…to New Zealand, the home of The Tribe! Hopefully I'll find some inspiration, and time to write on my long plane journeys! Until next time.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Amber was perched on the edge of the bed in her nightclothes. It wasn't too late yet, but she was ready for bed because she wanted to read a bedtime story with her son tonight, hoping to make reading a little more fun.

Jay was lying on the bed, drawing up a chore rota with a little more aggression than was wholly necessary. His pen tore through the paper, which simply served to aggravate him further. He scrunched the failed rota into a ball and threw it angrily across the room.

"You're being more childish than Bray," Amber started, but was met with a growl.

"I do not want to hear that name right now!"

Amber scowled and snatched the pen from him. "I meant my son. You're probably where he got the stupid habit of throwing things when he's frustrated! Now will you stop acting like a jealous _pig_."

"Oh, so he's _my_ fault now. You never let me near him. I've not even been a substitute father to him, so don't you dare blame him on me!"

"Bray is no one's _fault_," exclaimed Amber in disbelief. "He's a living, breathing person. He's my son!"

"Amber that's not what I…"

She interrupted him aggressively. "You know very well what you meant!"

"Amber…" He reached out a hand to her. She tried to push it away, but he pushed on regardless and drew her down beside him. "Amber, please."

"Please what?" she spat.

"Let's talk, not fight," he said simply. She was placated, although just barely, and Jay realised that one wrong word would force her back into yelling. "Remember what we planned. We came back to this city to build a better future; for Bray and for our future children." He touched her stomach gently. "We were going to have a family, Amber, once we had a home. Don't you want to be a family?"

With a sigh Amber gave him a pleading look. "We've only just got back, Jay. It's too soon to think about more children."

Jay shook his head at her misunderstanding. "I don't want a baby yet either, Amber. There's simply too much to do to introduce more children into this tribe. But you have a child, and you have me too. Can't we be a family now?"

Bowing her head, Amber stood up. "Don't ask stupid questions, Jay. We've been a family for years already now. I'm going to go and read Bray a story."

"That sounds fun!" encouraged Jay, trying to diffuse the argument. "Can I come with you?"

Amber shook her head, and refused to look him in the eye. "Not tonight," she muttered, and quickly left the room.

Jay put his rota to one side and wept.

* * *

><p>When Amber entered the children's bedroom she was surprised to find Bray perched on Bray jr.'s bed. The little boy was not under his covers, but merrily bouncing up and down on Brady's bed. Brady was nowhere to be found.<p>

Worried that she'd cause herself to get angry again by trying to take control of the situation straight away, Amber decided to start by addressing the simplest situation at hand. "Where's Brady?" she asked by way of greeting.

Bray jr. ceased bouncing and sat down beside his father. Bray gave her a smile. "She's staying in Trudy's room tonight; Trudy wanted to give me some space to put Bray to bed."

Staring up at his mother Bray jr. said, "What are you doing here, mum?"

A smile crept onto Amber's face. She knew by the tone of his voice that Bray jr. was only refraining from using her name to please his father, but she was still thrilled by the simple word anyway. "I came to read you a bedtime story," she replied cheerfully, moving to the bookcase to choose a book.

"I want Daddy to tell me a story," Bray jr. insisted.

"What story do you want to hear then, son?" asked Bray.

Bray jr. quickly arranged the covers around him and curled up comfortably. "Tell me about one of your adventures in all the years you were lost," he begged.

"No!" said Amber, straightening up. She had a book under her arm. "You're not getting out of reading that easily mister!"

Laughing, Bray said, "So that's what you're playing at!" He ruffled his son's hair lovingly. Next he looked to Amber. "Can we reach a compromise? If Bray reads his story like he's supposed to I'll tell him a new one."

"Do I have to?" whined Bray jr.

Amber settled on the opposite side of the bed to Bray. "I'm afraid you do. You'll like this story."

Together they read The Story of Peter Rabbit, and despite his aversion to reading books Bray jr. found himself having a great time. Amber read the part of the mother rabbit, and Bray did impressions of Mr McGreggor. Bray jr. had to read all the parts in-between.

When the story was finished Amber closed the book with a smile. It had felt oddly uplifting to read a simple tale with her little boy.

Bray settled his son under his covers before he began his tale. "I'd been in Australia about a year, mostly doing odd jobs for tribes in order to pay for some food and a roof over my heads. I'd not come across anyone in days by this point, because I'd decided to follow the coast instead of the road. I was quite far from the nearest towns, let alone cities, so I hadn't expected to meet anyone for at least another couple of days. I was shocked when I rounded an outcrop of rocks and came upon a little girl playing in the sand." Bray jr. leaned forward, looking at his father expectantly.

"She was probably about your age, son. As soon as she saw me she ran up the beach, screaming loud enough to wake the dead! I didn't know what else to do, so as quickly as I could I followed her."

"She ran to a little hut set back from the beach. It had a yard at the back that was full of chickens, and a garden overflowing with fruit and vegetables and good things to eat. I knew that this much luxury in such a strange place must be a secret from all the world, so I hoped that whoever lived here would pay me with some food if I promised to keep their secret. I walked up and knocked on the door."

Bray jr. was shaking his head insistently. "You shouldn't do that!" he said. "They might have weapons. They could have killed you!"

Amber frowned. "Obviously he got out of it, since he's here. Hush, and listen to your story Bray."

"No one answered the door. I suppose they hoped that if I thought no one was there that I'd leave. Instead I shouted that if they didn't come out and greet me I'd simply take all their food for myself. That brought the girl to the door, and she had an older girl with her.

"The older girl was probably about eighteen years old. She had long hair that reached down to her waist, the sort of girl that used to be in all the TV adverts before the virus. She looked furious.

"'I suppose you want a hot meal in return for your silence? Men are all the same,' she said. 'Come in, but if you take more than you're given I'll gut you with my kitchen knife, and don't you think I won't!'"

"She should have threatened you away, not let you in," Amber interrupted. "You don't let an enemy into your house!"

"Mum, you're ruining the story!" chastised her son, and Amber lulled back into an uneasy silence.

"The girl sat me at the table. She fed me the nicest meal I'd eaten in as long as I could remember. It was just so fresh, as well as so beautifully cooked. When I couldn't eat another bite we exchanged stories. I told her how I had lost my girlfriend and my baby, and gone out there in search of something to fill that hole. She told me that she had lived with her brother and his girlfriend ever since the virus. One day five years ago they'd gone for a walk and never come back. They'd left her behind with their little girl. 'We survive easily,' she said, 'but it's terribly lonely.'

"I negotiated a bed for the night, and breakfast for the morning, in return for me fixing a leak in the roof. In fact I ended up staying two nights, and being given five meals, in return for fixing lots of little things around the hut. It was pleasant in that hut, and so peaceful. By the time the third evening came around I was ready to leave. As I packed my bag with the food that she'd given me, the older girl came to me to ask a question. 'Won't you please stay forever?'"

The little boy's eyes were wide as he listened to his father, drinking in every word of the tale. Despite everything, Amber also found herself enamoured with the account too. Bray had a wonderful voice for telling stories.

"When I refused she started to beg. 'Your own wife and child are surely dead. Stay with us, we need you!' Again and again she insisted, not relenting for over an hour, and when at last I'd had enough and stood to leave she flew at me in a rage. She hit my head with something hard, and when I came around after the blow it was already morning. I found that she'd chained my ankle to hers!"

Bray paused dramatically. Amber wore a look of disbelief, but her son's face showed terror.

"How did you escape?" asked Bray jr. who was obviously not enjoying his father's theatrical break.

Bray smiled at his son. "Are you too tired? Shouldn't we save the rest of this story to tomorrow?"

"No!" shouted the little boy. "Please no! I want to hear how you got away!"

"Don't taunt the boy," said Amber, although her eyes were smiling.

Bray lowered his voice to a whisper to finish off his tale. "She needed some wood for the fire, so together we went to the bottom of the garden. There was no wood chopped, but there were some large branches lying nearby. She gave me a hatchet and stepped as far away as the chain would allow, although I think by now she knew that I wouldn't harm her, even though she was my captor. I'd barely started my chopping when the smaller girl started screaming and shouting from the house. The older girl seemed torn, but since the shouting didn't stop, and the girl didn't appear, she decided to chain me to the fence, and then run swiftly back up to the house.

"We could have gone up to the house together, of course. Choosing to leave me behind was her one mistake. I used the hatchet to chop through the fence. I lost all of my belongings that day, so the next week was a hard one."

"You're amazing," said Bray jr., his face shining with admiration as he stared at his father.

Bray laughed. "No more than anyone else. We all do what we must to survive." He leaned over and placed a kiss gently on his son's forehead. "Sleep well little one."

Bray left Amber behind to say goodnight, but she quickly caught up with him. "That story was too farfetched," she scolded. "You'll start putting ideas in his head! He worships you already."

"It was true, every word."

"Nonsense. Any man would have stayed, what with the house by the beach, and the food, and the girl like a supermodel fawning all over you. You'd have us believe you turned all the down for a wife and a son who you believed to be dead."

"I never believed…I always hoped you were still alive, somewhere," he corrected gently. "And besides, she was some little kid."

"You weren't tempted at all."

"No, and I'll tell you why. She didn't need me to survive, she'd been doing alright by herself for five years; yet despite that she insisted I was abandoning her. I don't need women who are needy Amber. I like women who can stand up for themselves."

She scoffed. "And did you find any of those on your adventure around the world?"

Weakly he smiled at her. "A few," Bray admitted readily. "But none of them even came close to you."

A red blush crept across Amber's cheeks. It was difficult to tell whether it was due to anger, or flattery, or both. "Look!" she began in a furious whisper. "You can't come back after ten years and simply expect to flirt your way back into my life. Jay and I have been together for a long time now. Don't think you can tell a pretty story, and tuck in our son, and that will suddenly win me, because it won't. I'm happy with Jay."

Bray glared. "I told a story and tucked in _my_ son because I care for him. He's our baby, Amber, not a tool to manipulate people, though you seem to have forgotten that long ago." He held up his hand to halt her interruption, and earned an even fiercer glare in return. "And don't ever accuse me of trying to win you. I wouldn't ever be so stupid. I simply offer myself, just as I am. It's up to you to make the choice."

Aggressively Amber poked Bray in the chest. "No more flirting. Or else."

As she stormed off down the hallway back to her techno lover, Bray couldn't help feeling that it wasn't over yet.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Well I'm back from New Zealand! I hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

The atmosphere in the mall was tense. Food was proving to be harder to come by in the city than the Mallrats had first thought it would be. The small stashes of preserved foods that people had stashed away from rainy days had been the first thing that fleeing people had reached for when leaving the city. They knew that larger stashes must exist, put aside by bigger tribes and well hidden. But it seemed they were too well hidden, or else all the canned food really had been eaten long ago.

The little they'd brought with them was fast running out, and with nothing to trade and no one to trade it with, a distinct air of worry was settling over the tribe. No one suggested rationing aloud; but they all knew that pretty soon it would be inevitable.

Lex's loud speculating and complaining had begun, as yet again he seemed to think he could do a better job of running the tribe than anybody else.

"It's all hunky dory now, but you just wait," he grumbled noisily, disturbing everyone's breakfast. "I've not forgotten the bad old days, when we fought for every meal, and often went without! Where do you think we'll get food from now? There aren't any farms in the cities. There aren't any farms for miles!"

"Amber and Jay have got us through worse," said Jack confidently. "They'll have a plan this time, right Amber?"

Amber was eating breakfast alone and in silence, not listening to Lex's rambling. "Huh?" she responded unintelligently.

"You and Jay are already working on a solution to our food situation, aren't you?"

"Yeah, sure," replied Amber, not sounding in the least bit convincing. "I have to go, sorry." Without another word she left the room.

"I'm so glad we have such a fearless and organised leader," droned Lex sarcastically. "I should have known she'd be less than useless once lover boy showed up again."

Jack was about to retort when Jay came in. He looked like he hadn't slept; there were bags under his eyes and the usual spring in his step had vanished. Yet he still nodded good morning to his friends when he walked into the room.

As he went to serve himself some breakfast Trudy gently stopped him. "Amber barely touched hers, and food isn't exactly in abundance. You wouldn't mind finishing her breakfast off, would you?" she asked kindly. She indicated the plate Amber had left on the table.

"Sure," replied Jay, going to retrieve the plate. "Is everything okay?" he added, sensing the unease in the room.

"Lex was scaring everyone by speculating about our dwindling food supplies," Jack explained, shooting a glare in Lex's direction.

Jay's expression switched to one of concern. In his firmest, calmest voice he said, "Well we're not there yet. We've been through much worse before, Lex should know that better than anybody. We're working on a strategy, we were brainstorming ideas for a few hours last night, so don't worry."

In truth Amber and Jay hadn't spoken a single word to each other since yesterday. It had been an awkward night, lying beside the person you're ignoring. Being the tribe's two leaders they often argued late into the night, but the fights were almost always resolved by morning. The unusual separation between them had put them both very out of sorts.

That seemed to calm the tribe somewhat, and everyone went back to eating their breakfast whilst Lex subsided into muffled grumbles.

The cafeteria had cleared by the time Jay had finished his breakfast, aside from one person. Bray waited patiently until he was sure everyone else had left, and then strode purposefully over to Jay's table.

"Can we talk?" he asked, looking both nervous and determined.

Jay really didn't want anything to do with Amber's old lover, but he couldn't think of a good reason to refuse, and so he simply nodded; he didn't want to risk opening his mouth in case he said something rude.

"I know you and Amber don't really have a plan on the food front, and you need one fast if you don't want Lex to try to undermine you," Bray said bluntly, getting straight to the point. "Ebony could be a problem too," he added as an afterthought.

Jay was shocked. "Actually Slade keeps Ebony pretty much under wraps these days," he said, "and Lex is nothing we can't handle. If I didn't know better I'd say maybe _you_ were trying to undermine us."

Bray frowned. "Why do you say that?"

"You're talking to me behind Amber's back. You could be trying to break us apart."

With a shrug and the shake of the head Bray simply replied, "I can't prove that you're wrong, but I don't work like that. If I wanted to win Amber's heart I'd do it right in front of you, not behind your back. Besides, at the moment I'm trying to get used to the fact that I have a son, romance right now would just complicate things too much."

Jay replied only with silence, his jaw set.

"Feeding this tribe is more important than personal conflict. I'm pretty sure Amber would be unreasonable if I presented my ideas to her. They say it's better the enemy you know, but since I know dealing with her right now will be impossible I thought I might as well try to speak to you."

"Fine." Jay's agreement was grudgingly given. "What's your plan?"

"The problem we have is numbers," Bray began simply. "Most people would think that we have too many mouths to feed, but the reality is actually the opposite. This tribe is the perfect size to run a farm; but running a city, not even counting all the surrounding farms and trade routes needed to sustain an area this size takes…well, at the very least we need a few thousand people."

Jay considered this for a moment. It was an outrageous suggestion that the city would need more people in order to feed everyone, not fewer. "You may have a point," he agreed reluctantly, after a pause. "What do you purpose as a solution? Order the tribe to start having babies?" he added sarcastically.

Much to Jay's surprise, Bray let out a hearty laugh. "That's probably a good idea in the long term!" he joked with a grin. "However, for now I think we need to tell people that the city is safe again. We can send out some of our own to bring people back. They'll be like ambassadors, I suppose. It could be a good idea to get Jack to find his old radio as well. There must be other kids somewhere out there who've figured out how to work them. We can advertise to those tribes."

Jay couldn't help but be impressed; Bray's idea wasn't just good, it was well planned out too.

"I believe you're onto something there," Jay said, nodding his consent. "If we want to get this city thriving again we need to fill it. It's a more long term solution that anything I've come up with," he admitted, looking ashamed.

The other man smiled reassuringly. "We need short term solutions too. What do you have in mind?"

"I wanted to plant crops on the playing fields and any area of green land we can find."

"Good idea, we should do that too," Bray enthused.

Looking very embarrassed, Jay looked at the table and mumbled, "I'm sorry for being so rude earlier."

With a wave of his hand Bray brushed the remark away. "Don't worry about it. You're protective of Amber and I'm glad. She may not need looking after, but she does need someone on her team." Bray looked uncertain for a moment, but a look of resolve crossed his face. He held out his hand for Jay to shake. "No hard feelings?"

Jay took Bray's hand. "No hard feelings," he agreed. "Thank you for being so understanding."

"It's what any decent man would do in the same situation as we are, my friend," Bray encouraged warmly. "I've been away for over seven years after all, I'm the one who has to adapt, not everyone else! Besides, you've done such a wonderful job of leading this tribe and looking after my family."

Jay didn't know what to reply, so he said nothing, his face like stone,

"You've done a great job of raising little Bray too," Bray continued. "He's wonderful. You must be very proud; I know I am," he gushed, with not a hint of sarcasm or danger in his voice; he clearly meant every word.

Despite Bray's effort to be genuinely complimentary Jay suddenly looked very uncomfortable. "I am," he replied tersely, not leaving room for more conversation. He thanked Bray for his help and bid him goodbye politely, although distantly, and went to do his morning's chores.

As he walked away from the café that morning Jay couldn't make up his mind as to whether a new found friendship with Bray was a welcome peace, or simply complicated everything a great deal more.

* * *

><p>Jay stood up at dinner that evening. He didn't have to call for quiet, because the serious look on his face lulled the Mallrats into silence. "I've been thinking about the food situation, and I must admit that I've not come up with much of a plan." You could almost hear the fear in the minds of the tribe members at Jay's words. "Luckily," Jay cut of Lex's scything remark just as he opened his mouth, "Bray had some brilliant ideas that I wanted him to share with you. Bray?"<p>

Bray looked pleasantly surprised at being given the opportunity to speak. He didn't rise from the chair between his son and Brady but simply spoke from where he sat. "I wouldn't say it's a brilliant idea, but I'm hoping it's workable. I think we need to get more people into the city, get more hands to help us rebuild and to grow food."

Lex scoffed. "Have you completely taken leave of your senses? Doesn't more people equal more mouths to feed."

"People have two hands and one mouth, Lex," Bray retorted. "The right ratio of people would get this city up and running far faster than we could. It might even be impossible with just this many hands. We can't grow enough food, and collect enough water, and trade in things like medicine and clothes when there's so few of us, with so little farmable land to hand."

"I think Bray's right," Jay reassured his audience. "We can't run a city like we ran a farm."

A mummer of discussion swept the room.

"It's a stupid idea," interrupted a sullen voice from the back of the room. Amber stepped forward with a scowl on her face. "Who do we invite to join us? How do we know they won't take our food, or our land, or simply kill us in our sleep? How do we invite them? Do we waste time and resources and energy going to see them? There are too many holes in this plan, and we only just got here." In her arms was a big, heavy book. She dropped it onto the table, where it landed with a heavy bang. It was a history book, detailing the efforts of how the British used to "Dig for Victory" and plant crops on any spare patch of grass they could find during the Second World War. "We dig up play grounds and gardens and small patches of grass and we plant food," Amber insisted. "We can chase after other tribes and find new friends next summer. Right now preparing for the winter is the most important task."

Jay looked carefully at his lover, but she wouldn't let him catch her eye. Bray was too stunned by Amber's aggression to respond. "In this tribe, we vote though," Amber added, still sullen. "Who's in favour of Bray's plan?" Jay raised his hand, and so did Bray jr, although his vote didn't count. "Those in favour of planting crops?" Everyone else's hands found their way into the air, although some were tentative, as though not wanting to upset the man who'd brought forward the rejected plan.

"Good," said Amber. "Bray, eat your greens," she ordered her son, who had left a pile of untouched peas on the side of the plate, before she stormed out of the room.

**Author's Notes: **Hope you enjoyed this chapter! A friendship between Jay and Bray…well that could make things interesting!


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